Village in the Stars
by Madartiste
Summary: Getting lost in the woods is the least of their worries when Natsu and Lucy blunder their way into a cursed village and a prophecy that leads them to understand something about themselves.
1. The one with the beginning

_**Summary:**_ _Getting lost in the woods is the least of their worries when Natsu and Lucy blunder their way into a cursed village and a prophecy that leads them to understand something about themselves._

 _Big thanks to Snogfairy for taking a look at this and giving me the shove I needed to actually fix a bunch of stuff I was waffling on!_

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _Mostly pretty PG-13, but there's a bit of violence, cursing, off screen death of OCs that happened long in the past, and a_ really _NSFW scene towards the end. I'll admit this is a little_ weird _and definitely darker in tone than my fluffy stuff. Nothing too bleak, I promise. I should probably warn everyone now that I have some strange kinks, though. It only seems fair to alert you all going into this._

 _For anyone reading this on FF net the NSFW section was primarily cut, so if it feels like there's something missing, there actually is. If you'd like to read that redacted part, hop on over to my Archive of Our Own account (there's a link in my profile) and you can find it there once we get to that section. It's not exactly important for the story, so you're not missing anything if you'd rather skip the naughtiest bits._

 _The time frame also got a bit messed up thanks to some things that happened during the Tartarus manga arc. I had originally planned this to take place in that ambiguous post-Tartarus future, but, well, Mashima had certain people show up..._

* * *

"We're lost." Natsu scowled at the dense stands of identical trees, hands laced behind his head and lips pushed out in an exaggerated pout.

"We're _not_ lost," Lucy said indignantly as she studied her compass. "We're heading East. The sun is _right_ there, and it's mid morning, so that's definitely East. At least it _should_ be…"

The fire dragon slayer continued to sulk. "It's not fair that we got stuck in the woods while everyone else is fighting bandits. Even Happy went with them!"

"He wanted to be with Carla, and Carla is sticking with Wendy."

"Well, _Wendy_ could've come with you to do this instead of _me._ And we're definitely lost. We've passed that rock over there three times this hour."

"Gee, thanks, Natsu. Sure feels like some strong teamwork right here. And we're _not_ lost! I think…" Frowning, the blonde tapped at the glass face of the compass, watching the needle swing wildly. "This is so weird… What's making it act like this?"

"Screw the Ice Bastard and Erza," he grumbled, not noticing her concern and batting angrily at a tree branch that threatened to whip at his face. "Why did they get to just vote us out here? We have to hunt around for these dumb ruins, and _they_ get to have fun beating up bad guys!"

"Hmm, yeah, not fair," Lucy said absently. They'd been walking far longer than the map indicated was needed to reach where the villagers claimed the bandits stashed their stolen goods. She looked up from her madly spinning compass needle to the sun that really just didn't look like it was in the right position for mid morning. "Natsu, I think something's wrong with -"

She bumped into his suddenly outstretched arm. The dragon slayer's face was grim, eyes darting around the area, and he shifted to stand in front of Lucy. His nostrils flared as he scented the air, lips peeling back from his teeth in a snarl. "I know you're there. Show yourselves!"

Holding her breath, the celestial wizard waited tensely. The only sounds she could hear were the flock calls of birds and the gentle stirring of leaves by the breeze. Lucy knew better by now than to doubt a dragon slayer's nose, but things were entirely still. "Are you sure -"

"Come on out now, or I'll come in after you!" Natsu barked, cutting her off and using the back of his hand to tuck the girl more securely behind him. Whatever he smelled had to be serious.

The thick underbrush rustled more aggressively, parting to reveal at least a dozen people dressed in strange wooden masks. They held finely crafted spears and bows at the ready, some aimed right at the two guildmates. Lucy sucked in a surprised breath and crowded closer to her pink haired friend's back while her hand grasped the keys on her belt.

One of the men stepped forward, setting the butt of his spear on the ground rather than brandishing it like the others. His mask was elaborately carved and painted with colorfully dyed feathers and woven tassels hanging from the chin. One would think the bright ornamentation would make him stand out in the foliage, but it seemed the colors were well chosen as camouflage since it had taken a dragon slayer's almost supernatural sense of smell to detect them.

"Who are you? Why are you trespassing here?" the man demanded.

Natsu grinned threateningly and ignited the air around his fists. "Oh boy, did you ever pick the wrong people to jump. I've been itching for a fight all day!"

The display of force by the dragon slayer provoked gasps and murmuring from the masked ambushers until their leader raised a pacifying hand. "Are… Are you a wizard?" the warrior asked, deep voice shaking slightly.

"Sure am!" the pink haired boy declared proudly, and he twisted his torso to show off his guildmark. "We're from Fairy Tail, so you'd better -"

The man cocked his head questioningly. "Fairy… Tail? Is that your village?"

"They are strangers! We should send them away or tie them up or _something_." Another masked person, younger by the sound of his voice and build of his body, took a step forward. "How did they even get here?"

"That's enough, Radi." The leader reached up and pushed his mask away from his face. He had a pleasant if slightly nervous smile, deeply tanned skin, and dark hair plaited in long neat rows of bead studded braids. His face was clean shaven, but lined just enough to indicate he was likely in his forties. "Please forgive us. We truly did not mean to upset you, but your arrival here is… unusual."

Natsu studied the group for a moment before he broke into a bright, airy grin and extinguished his flames. "Hey, no worries. We just thought you were some bandits we'd been looking for."

"Bandits? No, no. We are just a hunting party. My name is Maulin, and I am honored to meet you, master wizard." He bowed politely to the pair, grip on his spear visibly relaxing.

"I'm Natsu, and this is Lucy." The dragon slayer jerked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the girl still hesitantly peering past him.

"It is an honor," Maulin repeated, "but we do not really get… visitors to this place. Would you mind me asking how you ended up here?"

"We got lost lookin' for some ruins," Natsu explained freely. "Hey, could you tell us how to get out of this forest? We've been wandering around in here for _hours._ "

Exchanging odd looks, the hunters muttered to one another until Maulin cleared his throat. "I am afraid we do not know the answer to that question. You see… this land is cursed."

"C-cursed?!" Lucy squeaked, stepping out from behind her partner. "What do you mean by cursed?"

"No one can leave this place. No matter how hard we have tried or how far we walk, we always end up back at the start near our village." Maulin gave them a sad smile edged with guilt. "I fear that you have now been caught up in this. We would be pleased to escort you to our home, however. Perhaps a wizard such as yourself could make some sense of this."

Frowning deeply, Natsu glanced to his friend before agreeing. They'd already made their own attempt to leave and hadn't had any luck. "I don't think we've got much of a choice here. Lead the way."

The hunters moved through the thick forest like they were following an invisible trail, weaving past branches and leaving little trace of their presence. Pausing briefly to collect a deer they had strung up before trying to spy on the two wizards, they hefted it between two of their members to make carrying the bulk easier. The dragon slayer noted that it had been killed with a clean, expert shot right above the eye that spoke volumes about their skill. And also made him just a bit more wary of their cheerful escort.

Natsu seemed to have the same knack for subtle passage as they did, but moved more slowly to help Lucy as she stumbled over tree roots and snapped twigs under her boots. Embarrassed, she tried to lighten the mood with a joke about her ungainly tromping. "It's like I've got an extra pair of legs. Not exactly graceful, am I?" she laughed nervously.

"Nah, you're doing fine." Natsu caught her arm when she tangled her foot in some creeping vines that spilled down the trunk of a tree. He bent down and swiped a burning hand through the vegetation, cutting her free in an instant. "It's pretty rough going through here."

"Thanks," she whispered, finding herself very close to the warm fire wizard. A little smile tugged at the corners of her mouth when he grinned back. Looking up, she spotted the group of hunters just staring at them with open curiosity. Her face lit up in a blush, and she automatically started to shift away from her teammate.

His grip tightening slightly in resistance, and Natsu gave her a stern look. "Just stick close, 'kay?" Nodding mutely, Lucy decided she'd prefer not to get too far from him in this strange situation anyway.

"There is no need to be concerned," Maulin said reassuringly. "We are already here." He pulled back some of the dense brush to reveal a steep drop into a bright green valley.

Down in the lowland was a small but bustling village with a clear stream running along the outskirts. It was the kind of pastoral sight that barely existed in Fiore in the modern age and made the blonde's breath catch in her throat. It was stunningly beautiful, but a few things stood out to her immediately.

"Are you nomadic?" Lucy asked curiously, carefully picking her way down the slope behind the others. The villagers' homes were tents painted with graceful scenes and pictographs she'd never seen before. There were shallow firepits ringed with found stones scattered around the site and one larger pit near the middle but no permanent structures of any kind. Everything looked like it could be efficiently packed up and moved at a moment's notice.

"You are very observant, my lady." Smiling, Maulin wove along the bank with easy grace, spear resting loosely on his shoulder. "We indeed were nomads until we fell under this curse. Our people ranged all the way from this forest to the sea."

Natsu followed in the leader's footsteps while occasionally stopping to support his unsteady teammate. As funny as the thought of her tumbling head over heels might be, this hill was far too rocky for his taste, and she was more likely to break something vital than just wail entertainingly. "What happened here? Did you guys get attacked by someone?"

"What are you - Oh." Lucy paused for a second until the fire wizard tugged on her hand to make her move again. Now that she was looking for it, she noticed odd, bare craters in the grassy valley along with immense boulders that were split and cracked. There were a few places with four deep gouges in the earth that looked too regular to be natural, and some of the tents had scorch marks that blistered the hide and blackened their decorative paintings.

Maulin shrugged with a surprising lack of concern. "It happens," was his only reply as they reached the valley floor and proceeded into the village.

By now, the other villagers had spotted the two bright haired strangers in the midst of their hunting party and started to gather. They whispered to one another, gazing at the pair when they passed by. Natsu shuffled ever closer to Lucy, nearly stepping on the side of her foot, but she didn't complain. This kind of open attention was unsettling.

"Chieftain Daun," Maulin addressed an older man with wild white hair and an ornately woven shawl. His knuckles clenched around a carved staff that featured a roaring dragon's head, and Natsu's eyes were immediately drawn to it. "We found these two visitors lost in the forest. This young man is a wizard!"

"A _wizard_?" The old man stroked his beard which was far more carefully trimmed than his long hair. "Is this true, child?"

"Yes," Lucy answered for her friend, "and I'm his partner. We're both wizards from the Fairy Tail guild." The blonde showed her gold and silver keys. "I'm a celestial spirit mage, and Natsu is -"

"You summon star spirits?!" the elder cut her off, fingers tightening further around his stick and eyes going round in excitement.

"Uh, yes…" she said slowly, wondering if she was making the right choice by answering. "I suppose I do."

Daun's face was suddenly intense as he turned to look at her pink haired companion. "And you, boy? What magic do you possess?"

Puffing up, Natsu thumped his chest with a fist. "I'm a fire dragon slayer." The crowd of villagers immediately began to babble to one another, nearly drowning out what the old man was saying.

"You… You slay _dragons_?" The elder looked incredulous. He cast a quick glance to a frowning man standing just behind his left shoulder. "How is this possible?"

"Well, it's basically dragon magic," Natsu explained, hand making a loose gesture. "It kinda… makes you like a dragon. Let's you take on their strength, toughness and attacks. That sort of thing. I learned it from a dragon."

Shaking his head, Daun regarded him with an almost manic look. "This cannot be. I have never heard of a dragon deigning to teach a human their magic. They are territorial and vicious, and we are nothing more than cattle to them."

Lucy leaned in as close as she could get to her teammate, shoulder pressing against his. The crowd had gone from excited to terrified, their now hushed murmurings taking on an edge of fear. Even with their magic, she wasn't confident they could handle all these people if they started to panic.

"You sound like you know dragons pretty well," Natsu said, not the least bit intimidated. His eyes had a light of optimism that Lucy recognized from the day she'd first met him back in Hargeon. "Are there dragons around here? If there are -"

"We are _plagued_ by them, just as everyone else is." The silent, passive man who had been standing behind the elder stepped forward. "Or we _were_ until we could no longer leave this forest. Forgive me for intruding. My name is Tarsk, this village's shaman." He bowed to the pair, laying his right hand over his heart.

His face had lines tattooed in a simple pattern, and his hair was cut shorter than the others though it still sported the same braids and carved beads. The hawkish sharpness of his features lent an austere authority to his presence, and a wicked looking scar that cut a diagonal line from his right temple down across his mouth to the left side of his chin made him seem a bit dangerous. Lucy supposed he could be considered handsome, but something about the way he looked at the two of them set her on edge.

"Lucy," Natsu grabbed her arm excitedly, practically dismissing the man. "Did you hear that?! There are _dragons_ here!" He ignored the girl's expression of concern and didn't wait for her to speak when her mouth opened. "Have you guys ever heard of one named Igneel? I'm looking for him. He's a huge fire dragon, so he should be pretty easy -"

"I do not recognize the name," Tarsk said tersely, giving the boy a very calculating look. "Unless you intend to slay it, why would anyone ever be _searching_ for such a beast?"

"'Cause he's my dad; he raised me. He's the flame dragon king." Natsu's grin was wide and proud.

The assembled villagers went completely silent. Tarsk's mouth opened and closed, but he made no sound. "Er…" Lucy started, glancing around them at the stunned crowd. "Maybe you shouldn't have -"

"Please!" Daun's staff hit the ground with a heavy thunk and a slight bounce. The elder dropped to his knees and bowed his forehead until it touched the dirt. "Please… You must help us. I beg you Celestial Maiden, save our village!"


	2. The one with the prophecy

_**Summary:**_ _Getting lost in the woods is the least of their worries when Natsu and Lucy blunder their way into a cursed village and a prophecy that leads them to understand something about themselves._

 _Big thanks to Snogfairy for taking a look at this and giving me the shove I needed to actually fix a bunch of stuff I was waffling on!_

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _Mostly pretty PG-13, but there's a bit of violence, cursing, off screen death of OCs that happened long in the past, and a_ really _NSFW scene towards the end. I'll admit this is a little_ weird _and definitely darker in tone than my fluffy stuff. Nothing too bleak, I promise. I should probably warn everyone now that I have some strange kinks, though. It only seems fair to alert you all going into this._

 _For anyone reading this on FF net the NSFW section was primarily cut, so if it feels like there's something missing, there actually is. If you'd like to read that redacted part, hop on over to my Archive of Our Own account (there's a link in my profile) and you can find it there once we get to that section. It's not exactly important for the story, so you're not missing anything if you'd rather skip the naughtiest bits._

 _The time frame also got a bit messed up thanks to some things that happened during the Tartarus manga arc. I had originally planned this to take place in that ambiguous post-Tartarus future, but, well, Mashima had certain people show up..._

 _ **Author's Note Addition:**_ _Since Poxxy asked in the comments, this story has seven total parts, but one of them is basically a long NSFW scene so I won't be publishing that part here on FF since they officially frown on that sort of content. If you'd like to read it (when it goes up), it'll be over at Archive of Our Own._

* * *

"Uh, what?" the Lucy uttered. All around them small groups of the villagers were kneeling, faces full of a mixture of fear and hope. "Hey, wait! You don't have to do that!" Lucy reached down and grasped the older man's arms, awkwardly pulling him back to his feet.

Natsu picked up the fallen pole, taking a second to study the accuracy of the dragon's head on top, and handed it back to the trembling chieftain with a warm smile. "Of course we'll help you break your curse."

"It is just as the legend says!" Maulin whooped, beaming at his fellow cheering hunters. "They have truly returned to us, and _we_ were the ones honored to lead them here."

Radi nodded excitedly. "I can't wait to be able to visit Asauda village again. I wonder if Tanne is still waiting for me…" His eyes took on a faraway look as he pulled off his hunting mask and clutched it in front of his chest.

The sudden shift in the villagers' attitude was as much jarring as it was a relief. Making an 'x' shape with her hands, Lucy said, "Hold up. Legend? Chieftain, could you please explain what that means?"

"The celestial maiden and her dragon are the only ones who can break the curse that binds us. It is a prophecy we have known for _ages_. Our shaman is the only wizard in this village, so we have been unable to help ourselves…" His eyes were watery, and the man sniffed while his chin quivered. "I never thought I would live to see it. This is truly a momentous day."

"I dunno about a prophecy or whatever, but we'll do what we can." Scratching the side of his face with his index finger, Natsu grimaced. "We've gotta get out of here too. Our friends are waiting for us."

Daun rapped the butt of his stave against the ground, displacing a clod of grass. "This calls for a celebration! We shall have a feast in honor of the maiden and the dragon prince."

" _Prince_?" Natsu raised an eyebrow and let out a bark of a laugh. "I'm no prince." He crossed his arms over his chest, watching the scurrying villagers with interest when they started to stoke the fire pits and drag baskets of food out.

"Of course you are," the elder said. "What is a prince but the son of a king, be he ruler of men or beasts?"

Lucy tipped her head. "Huh… Actually, you kind of have a point there."

"So are you gonna call me 'your highness' now?" The fire wizard snickered at the blonde's exaggerated eye roll and disgusted expression. "I guess that makes equal, right? Since you were sort of a princess before."

"Let's… just not go there, okay?" she sighed. "Besides, _you_ were the one who said I wasn't a lady."

He laughed louder and slapped her on the back, not caring that she glared at him for the jolt. "I guess I did. Man, that food is starting to smell good, and those fires look tasty."

"Please, let us find a place for you to rest. You must be tired from your long journey." Daun gestured towards the center of the village where the others were setting up for a roaring bonfire and bringing pillows and blankets for seating.

Following, Lucy spared a glance to the silent shaman who had barely moved since Natsu's revelation about his father. She frowned at the grim expression on Tarsk's face, but it evaporated when he caught her gaze. With a polite smile, he inclined his head and turned to go assist in preparations. Her eyes narrowed, lips flattening. Something about that guy…

"Hey, this is pretty great!" Natsu exclaimed. He dropped cross legged on a large embroidered pillow. Patting the cushion next to him, the fire wizard grinned his standard, untroubled grin. "Have a seat, Lucy."

She lowered herself to the pillow, taking in the makeshift canopy hastily erected overhead and how the other seats were arranged facing the two visitors. The villagers had certainly given them a place of honor. Observing the people beginning to cook the food, Lucy moved closer to her companion. "Natsu, is anything about all this bothering you?"

"Other than being trapped in a forest because of a weird prophecy?" he asked, waving at one of the curious children that was staring at him. The little boy gasped and scurried off to hide behind his mother's legs.

Worrying her lip between her teeth, Lucy kept her voice low. "Did you notice how everyone dresses and talks here? Isn't it a bit… archaic?"

Natsu lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "It kinda reminds me of Galuna island, though the old guy doesn't have those awesome sideburns."

"Exactly!" she hissed. "Galuna island was really remote and isolated because the demons had convinced people the area was cursed. No one went there. But this village is in the middle of a well-traveled forest, and it's _still_ like this."

"I guess that's true…"

Lucy held up a finger. "What's more, there weren't any reports of people going missing in the forest or any maps that showed this village. If this place was really cursed and no one who enters can leave, wouldn't someone know about it by now?"

"Yeah, and they talk about dragons like they're all over the place." Natsu's grin had dimmed considerably, looking more locked in place than genuine.

"I didn't want to say anything, but… what do you make of that?" the blonde asked, feeling even more apprehensive.

He shook his head, eyes skimming the people starting to gather. Forcing a quick smile at the women who placed carved wooden cups filled with a sweet scented drink in front of them, he waited until they retreated. "I dunno. Even I only ever saw Igneel until the stuff with the Eclipse Gate. That old guy's stick sure looks like it was made by someone who's actually been around them, though." With a surreptitious sniff, the fire wizard decided it was alright to taste the offered refreshment.

Lucy stared down into the purple liquid in front of her. "Do you think we're safe?"

Sipping his drink, Natsu rolled the thick, fruity beverage along his tongue before speaking. "It's not poisoned, and I don't feel like they're lying to us. But the damage to this village was done a long time ago, and sure _looks_ like it was done by a dragon. Did you notice how the craters have grown over? It's weird that the _tents_ look like they were burned up just recently... Maybe they're not telling us something."

"This is all making me -" The celestial wizard stopped speaking when a group of villagers approached, laying out platters of fruits, nuts, and freshly roasted meat in front of the pair. Lucy offered them as warm a smile as she could manage when they stood back and watched expectantly.

She spied Natsu's incredible nose quivering, discreetly checking for any strange scents, before he beamed at them and slapped his hands together, giving them a quick rub. "This smells great!"

Wasting no time digging in, the fire wizard snatched up two large pieces of venison and stuffed one into his mouth. He chewed noisily, making sounds of appreciation when he tore off another strip of meat with his sharp teeth. Glancing at his partner, he noticed that she was taking in the smiling villagers, hands tucked motionlessly into her lap. He didn't bother to swallow the lump of food in his mouth and said, "What's wrong, Lucy? The grub's good."

"None of them are eating," she whispered back. "This isn't that much food for so many people… I think this is everything they've got right now."

The throng of anticipative people were watching them, but keeping a more than respectful distance. Lucy leaned forward, picking up one of the platters of sticky fruit and singling out a small girl half hidden behind her father. "This is too much for me to eat. Would you like to have some?"

Hesitant, the child glanced at her parent before moving forward. The blonde extended the food towards her, nodding when the girl reached out and plucked up a luscious looking stone fruit. She giggled when she bit into it, juice running down her chin.

"Lucy's right! No way we can eat all this," Natsu exclaimed. He gestured the villagers closer with his whole arm. "Besides, food tastes better if you eat it with other people. Get over here, you guys!"

He grinned as they cautiously inched forward, giving them encouraging motions of his hands. Their enthusiasm built when the first few took pieces of food, and quickly they were all joining in with infectious laughter. It seemed like whatever anxious spell had kept them back was broken.

Lucy felt a warm pool of satisfaction in her stomach watching the villagers celebrate in the waning sunlight. She had the feeling that they didn't get many opportunities for festivities. Her good mood was only hampered by the creeping tingle on the back of her neck that had her craning around to see what was behind. She locked gazes with the shaman who was studying her intently, but he again offered a cordial smile before heading off to another location.

She frowned and then spotted elder Daun standing nearby with a look of awe on his face. He cleared his throat and smiled gently. "Maiden Lucy, I must say thank you. Your generosity towards us is inspiring."

"Just Lucy is fine," she responded automatically, "and I think we should be thanking _you._ You've been very kind to two complete strangers."

"Oh, no!" The old man waved the hand that wasn't clutching his staff negatively. "You should understand that our village has been without hope since the curse struck us. This is the first time I have dared believe that we might be freed, and to find that the celestial maiden is truly as kind as the story says… I must confess I had not entirely believed it."

Embarrassed by his gushing, Lucy decided to change the topic. "Do you mind if I ask what a shaman is? It's not really a term we use where I'm from."

"Of course," Daun bobbed his head, happy to be of assistance. "Shamans are essentially wizards that, rather than roam as you mages do, provide service to the home that gives them birth. Their powers are more often derived from the natural world. Tarsk's family has protected us for many generations, and he in particular has fended off the dragons that try to raid our village. We owe him much," he stressed.

"I… see. Would it be possible for us to hear more about this legend you told us about?"

The elderly man's face lit with excitement. "Oh, yes! But I think it is Llamalla that tells it best." He eagerly waved forward the gray haired woman who had been listening in on their conversation, and she came without hesitation despite a small limp. The brightness of her eyes seemed to conflict with the creases in her skin.

Llamalla cleared her throat and the other villagers fell quiet, gathering around in a tighter formation to listen. Something about the smoothness with which this all happened made Lucy think it must be a frequent ritual here.

"Long ago, the celestial maiden, gentle soul and great champion, grace our land with her noble presence. She conversed with the spirits of the stars and called them to her side for aid. When she heard of a mighty dragon, she grew intrigued and wished more than anything to meet him. Others warned that he was a monster to be feared, chaotic and unpredictable, but the maiden had no fear in her pure heart."

"It was near a sea of green that she came to face the terrible beast, but at first she knew him not as such," Llamala's rich voice intoned. "His manner was strange, loud, and rough, though it only caused her mirth from the start. Her kindness and strength did sway him beyond doubt, and he offered her a boon should she request it."

The old woman paused, taking in Lucy's wide eyes as the story wove itself into shape. Some of it sounded so eerily familiar to the girl she could scarcely believe it. "It was too soon that she needed his help, and he revealed his ferocity as he tore down the foes that attempted to steal her light away. Still, the maiden knew no terror at his blistering breath for she only saw the heart of a warrior and not that of a monster. Indeed, the most fearsome of beings took her small hand in his and wished to share the secret places that he had once kept for himself."

"So it was that the Celestial Maiden left our lands for those treasured haunts, but when we fall under dire circumstance she will return to us. For it is only she and her indomitable dragon that may shatter the shroud of curse and return things to what they were."

Llamalla bowed just slightly as the villagers broke into applause and cheers. It was obvious this was a favorite story of theirs. Radi quickly jumped up to escort her to one of the seats despite the old woman scoffing kindly at needing his help. She tucked her arm in his, smiling and nudging the young man in the ribs playfully.

Daun watched the two visitors carefully throughout, feeling pleased by their awed expressions. "Quite excellent, is she not? I hope that helps to answer some of your questions."

Lucy nodded slowly. "Yes… It really does." Pursing her lips, she glanced back at her partner who was quickly becoming enthralled with the music the villagers were starting to play. Hide-skinned drums made heavy thumps while some kind of unfamiliar lute-like instrument and carved bone pipes created a jaunty melody. "I take it this story has been passed down through your history?" she asked, intensely curious now.

The chieftain's response was strangely hesitant. "I believe so. It is very strange, but no one can remember quite where it came from or who they learned it from. Llamalla, however, seems to know it best of us."

"Hmmm…" Before she could say more, shouts of alarm from the carousing villagers drew her eyes. Natsu had abandoned his seat for the bonfire, picking up a burning log and promptly stuffing the fiery wood into his mouth. There was a wide circle of shocked people around him. "Oh geez," she sighed.

"Wha?! Wha's wron'?" His words were muffled since his mouth was still full. With a slurping sound, Natsu popped the log out of his face and blinked quizzically at the startled villagers. "Your fire is really tasty. Is it special?" He turned to look at Lucy, shoulders slightly hunched and mouth stuck into a pout. "Am I in trouble?"

"You eat fire?!" Maulin gaped. The hunter seemed more at ease around the dragon slayer than some of the others but was still astounded.

Relieved it was all just simple surprise rather than him having chowed down on a sacred flame, Natsu chuckled. He casually tossed the charred log back into the fire pit, causing a cloud of glowing embers to shower out. "Oh, is that all? Sure. It's part of my magic."

"A-amazing!" Daun exclaimed. "Never have I seen such a thing."

"Pfft." The dragon slayer puffed out his chest. "That's nothing. Check _this_ out." Tipping back his head, Natsu inhaled sharply and let out a fearsome blast of flame towards the sky. It dwarfed the great bonfire, lighting up the twilight scene and casting stark shadows. Gasping in astonishment, the people cringed back or placed themselves in front of loved ones.

It wasn't until the fire mage gave them all a reassuring, and quite cocky, grin that they relaxed. Natsu took a bow when many of them started to clap and call excited praise. "Pretty cool, right?"

Lucy snorted, but smiled indulgently. "Show off," she said quietly, knowing only his excellent hearing would pick up the words. It just made him grin harder, and he allowed several of the younger villagers to drag him into a dancing circle. He stumbled a few times as they taught him the steps, but the pink haired wizard could be strangely graceful, and he quickly worked out the sequence.

Lucy watched the group ring around the fire several times, laughing at how enthusiastic Natsu was. Something about the exaggeration in his motions and how his eyes sought her out made her wonder if he was doing it just to amuse her. Swinging back around, he stuck out a hand and grabbed her arm. "C'mon, Lucy!"

His momentum pulled her off her seat, and she staggered along, feet catching in the grass as she tried to keep up. Ignoring her protests, he corrected her movements. "No, it's left side first. Then twist a little to the right. There ya go!"

She was briefly embarrassed by how much less coordinated than her friend she was, but her chagrin faded in the face of his jovial shouting. "Now spin! Two steps left, one forward!" The blonde found herself laughing so hard she could barely catch her breath while following his instructions. "You got it!" he crowed.

The dragon slayer kept her hand clasped in his own as much as he could during the vigorous dance. Even if Lucy told herself that her flushed cheeks were due to exertion, some private corner of her heart admitted it had as much to do with the pink haired boy's exhilarating grin. His desire to share experiences with her was something she fervently hoped she wouldn't ever take for granted.

Tipping her head back, she let her laughter ring out towards the night sky along with everyone else's. Even as strange as all this was right now, it didn't feel so wrong to let go and enjoy the moment. In fact, dancing with her dragon slayer at her side just felt entirely _right_ , fingers entwined and the warmth of his palm matching that of the fire. Far above them the stars winked at her lovingly.

The stars…

The stars!

Lucy tripped, staggering off to the side and barely regaining her balance in time to avoid smashing face first into the ground. Her fingers torn from his grasp, Natsu made a noise of concern and broke out of the circle to check on her. "Lucy! You okay? What happened?"

The celestial wizard pointed up towards the heavens, face pale and distraught. "Look! The stars are all wrong! For our location and this time of year… this isn't right."

Following her outstretched hand, Natsu looked up at the sky. He didn't know much about celestial bodies, but he knew enough to tell she was right. None of it looked at all familiar. "What does that mean?" he asked.

"It means we are no longer where we were." The two turned to look at Tarsk emerging from the knot of uneasy villagers watching them. "You are very astute to have noticed, my dear. It took us quite some time to become aware of the change ourselves."

"Have you been able to figure out where we are?" Lips turned down, Lucy's brown eyes traced patterns of light looking for anything she knew.

The shaman shook his head, giving her a wry smile. "I am afraid that for all our travels, we never encountered a place where the stars looked like this."

"Please forgive me for interrupting." All three glanced at the timid woman who bowed low. "I just wanted to inform our most honored guests that their accommodations are ready."

"Ah, it _is_ growing late, is it not? Perhaps it is best I bid you goodnight, lady." The shaman bowed too, sweeping a hand in front of himself elegantly and receiving a tentative node from the blonde, before he left. It didn't escape her notice that he'd deliberately ignored the dragon slayer.

"That guy's pretty strange," Natsu muttered and was awarded an elbow to his ribs and a stern look from Lucy. Even if she agreed, it wasn't wise to antagonize their hosts.

The golden haired girl offered a gracious smile to the village woman. "Thank you so much. I _am_ getting pretty tired."

"This way, please," the woman said, indicating a large tent with her arm. "I pray you and your good husband will find it sufficient."

"Hu-husband?!" Lucy squeaked, the comment managing to derail her frantic thoughts about the stars. "No, no, no! I think you've got the wrong idea." The celestial wizard waved her hands wildly in front of herself.

"Oh? You are not wed?" she asked. "But you are traveling alone together, and you said that you were partners…"

Natsu rubbed the back of his head, carefully avoiding Lucy's blushing face. She was probably going to blow a gasket at this rate, so it was better to clear things up. "We work together is what she meant." This kind of thing seemed to happen more and more often to them.

Flustered, the villager bowed quickly again. "Please forgive me, my lady! I misunderstood. I will prepare a separate tent right away -"

"Nah, this is fine," the fire wizard cut in. "With all the weird stuff going on, I don't like the thought of Lucy getting too far away. Besides, we sleep together all the time anyway."

"W-what he means is that we stay in the same room when we travel for missions," Lucy clarified hastily, cringing at how easily his statement could be taken the wrong way.

Cocking his head, Natsu gave her a bemused look. "No," he said slowly, "I mean I sleep in your bed with you when we're home pretty much every night."

"I see… So you are lovers," the villager said, sounding strangely awed. The others seemed to be taking a great deal of interest in the conversation too, even if they pretended to be occupied with their celebration.

"No! That's not it!" Lucy insisted. "You see… It's just that… I mean… We're just friends!" The excuse rang hollow even in her own ears, and the woman's dubious look didn't improve the burning in her face at all.

"It is not my place to pass judgment upon one such as yourself, my lady. That you pair yourself with a dragon king's son is written in prophecy, an immutable truth and our salvation." She bowed one last time and turned to leave. "May the stars watch over your sleep, Maiden."

"Thank you…" Rubbing at her brow with her thumb and forefinger, Lucy muttered quietly, "Wrong stars, though." All the bowing and scraping and talk of legends was starting to get on her nerves.

Heaving a sigh, she pushed aside the tent flap and was amazed by the furnishings inside. Though the form was practical, she couldn't help but admire the sophisticated techniques used for the ornamentation. The beautifully decorated blankets and pillows made a lush nest in the center of the space. One _single_ nest, she noticed. "I guess I'll just have to live with it."

"Does it really bother you that much when people think we're like that?" Natsu had joined her and was already stripping off his one armed coat.

She shot him a glance at the odd tone of his voice. He kept his back to her so she couldn't study his expression for more clues. Sometimes she wondered… "It's not that. It's just easier if they don't get the wrong impression."

"Whatever," he mumbled, kicking off his sandals and shucking his belt. "It's not that big of a deal to _me._ "

The fire wizard still wasn't facing her, and Lucy's mouth pinched. "Natsu… I'm sorry. I don't want you to feel like I don't... " She halted, not wanting to give away too much of herself. "Those kind of assumptions make things awkward, don't you think? And these people already have the impression that we're some kind of divinely sent saviors on top of it."

Shrugging, he dropped to his knees to crawl under the covers. "Why would I care what they think of us?" He hesitated, blanket already in hand, before he sat back on his heels to look up at her. His dark gaze was oddly penetrating, making the girl blush slightly while he considered something. Then he grinned. "Besides, it's kinda cool that everybody thinks that a girl like you would be with me."

"What does that mean?" she demanded while he clambered into bed. "You can't just say something like that and not -"

"Go to sleep, Lucy. We've got to start figuring out what the heck is going on tomorrow, and _you're_ the smart one." Natsu sprawled on his back with his eyes sliding shut, though his mouth was twitching towards a smirk.

Grumbling, the girl toed off her shoes, taking the time to arrange them near the exit, and then joining him under the covers after extinguishing the small oil lamp that hung from the tent poles. She fell asleep feeling strangely like she'd missed an opportunity.


	3. The one where things get weird

_**Summary:**_ _Getting lost in the woods is the least of their worries when Natsu and Lucy blunder their way into a cursed village and a prophecy that leads them to understand something about themselves._

 _Big thanks to Snogfairy for taking a look at this and giving me the shove I needed to actually fix a bunch of stuff I was waffling on!_

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _Mostly pretty PG-13, but there's a bit of violence, cursing, off screen death of OCs that happened long in the past, and a_ really _NSFW scene towards the end. I'll admit this is a little_ weird _and definitely darker in tone than my fluffy stuff. Nothing too bleak, I promise. I should probably warn everyone now that I have some strange kinks, though. It only seems fair to alert you all going into this._

 _For anyone reading this on FF net the NSFW section was primarily cut, so if it feels like there's something missing, there actually is. If you'd like to read that redacted part, hop on over to my Archive of Our Own account (there's a link in my profile) and you can find it there once we get to that section. It's not exactly important for the story, so you're not missing anything if you'd rather skip the naughtiest bits._

 _The time frame also got a bit messed up thanks to some things that happened during the Tartarus manga arc. I had originally planned this to take place in that ambiguous post-Tartarus future, but, well, Mashima had certain people show up..._

 _ **Author's Note Addition:**_ _I should've probably warned you all that this might get a bit... weird? I'd say stick with it since I don't think this goes_ exactly _the place you might think from what happens in this chapter, but I wouldn't be offended if it's not everyone's cup of tea. This story felt like a gamble from when I first started writing it, but let me just say that things end up happening in a way that_ doesn't _feel like a total cop out to me._

 _This is a really long chapter since I couldn't find a good place to break this up. I have a terrible tendency to write long stories as one big block without thinking about appropriate places to add chapter breaks. My bad..._ _Also, this entire story is actually finished and up on my tumblr account (same username) in case you are impatient and want to go read it now. Also, also I'll try to post a chapter once a week until the whole thing is up so there's no need to demand updates - they're a commin' whether you want them or not._

* * *

Natsu woke up in stages, becoming aware of his surroundings before he was completely awake. He definitely wasn't lying on Lucy's bed because it wasn't nearly comfy enough. Quietly, his brain supplied details from yesterday as his eyes flickered open. Oh right. Crazy cursed village with the prophecy thing.

He raised his head slowly when he felt a weight on his chest, glancing down and grinning at the sight of Lucy sprawling over him. She had a leg thrown across both his hips, her left hand tangled up under his scarf so her fingertips were resting against his chin, and her slightly parted lips pressed against his collarbone. The feeling of her soft breath fanning his bare torso had him suppressing a shiver of appreciation.

Man, she was _so cute._

She was also going to completely freak out when she woke up. He knew from experience because this kind of compromising position wasn't an unusual occurrence when he spent the night at her apartment in Magnolia. Teasing her just led to getting banned from her bed and having her refuse to touch him at all, neither of which he cared for. The best thing to do was just pretend to still be sleeping and let her sort herself out.

Speaking of which… Lucy made the telltale adorable snuffling sound that always preceded her waking. Biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing, Natsu let his head drop back to the pillow and shut his eyes. Muttering something unintelligible, the girl lifted her face from his shoulder and then let out a squeak of dismay. He could picture the round eyes and panicked expression clearly.

With some awkward flailing and very careful maneuvering, she attempted to free herself. Natsu found his jaw clenching as she ended up with her thigh in between his, hip pressing down on his very quickly becoming uncomfortable groin. Her shifting caused rubbing and blood started to abandon his brain. Oh, this was bad…

"Natsu…?" Her soft voice drifted to his ears, nearly drowned out by the pounding of his heart.

So, _so_ bad. "...Yeah?" he whispered in response, sounding strained.

"I knew it! You _are_ awake!" Lucy rolled off him, thigh brushing him in a marvelous way, and Natsu sat up quickly.

"Sorry. I thought you might want to sleep more," he lied easily. The fire dragon slayer was pretty sure letting slip that he liked to watch her sleep would just make her more wound up, and the bright red of her face already said a lot about her current level of embarrassment.

He was a bit surprised when Lucy hesitated, her face still close to his. Her coffee eyes dropped down past his scarf to his chest and then bounced back up. "Natsu… about last night… I don't want you to think that I have a problem with people thinking… or even, maybe, us _being_ -"

The tent flap was pushed back, putting a halt on whatever track their conversation might have taken. "I beg your pardon, but I heard your voices and thought you might wish to have some breakfast." Llamalla, face lined with experience, beamed at them from the entrance.

"Yeah, I'm starved!" Natsu sprang to his feet, knocking the blankets aside and pulling on his belt and jacket quickly. As annoyed as he was by the interruption, the dragon slayer had a feeling whatever promising admission had been about to trip off Lucy's tongue was going to stay buried for the moment. The girl's face was practically glowing it was so red. It was better to let things rest until they were ready for the heavy conversation she'd been about to plunge them into.

Leading the pair outside to where the villagers had thrown their party the night before, the woman extended her hand to indicate a place where plates of simple food were laid out and others were eating. "Please, help yourselves to whatever you would like. I am afraid it is not much, but it should suffice to fill your bellies and give you energy for the morning."

"It looks wonderful," Lucy said, and the girl picked up some slices of fruit. She sighed at the sight of Natsu scarfing his way through one of the platters, spewing gobs of food when he complimented the older woman on the taste.

"I trust the two of you slept well last night?"

Turning at the familiar voice, the celestial wizard smiled. "Chieftain Daun! Yes we did, and thank you again. I was actually hoping we could ask you a few questions. If we're going to break this curse, I'd like to have a bit more information."

The old man inclined his head. "I will assist you however I can. Please, ask anything you like."

"Well," she started, tapping her index finger against her chin, "could you tell me exactly what the curse is? Do you know who cast it?"

"As best we can tell, the curse prevents us from leaving the area surrounding our village. There is enough of the forest for us to hunt, but not much else. I am afraid I do not know who would wish us ill or would have the power to do such a thing."

Lucy glanced at Natsu who had stopped eating to listen. "Would you mind telling us how long your people have been under this curse? You talk like it's been a long time."

"Oh, it has!" Daun said, moving to stand next to her. "A very, very long time."

"But… Radi doesn't look that old, and he talked as if he remembers what things were like before."

Brushing his knuckles against his well-trimmed, white beard, the chieftain frowned. "Ah… that… It _is_ strange, yes?" He laughed sheepishly. "Sometimes it is hard for us to recall things. It may be that it only seems like a great deal of time has passed. The seasons do not change here, and the sun takes a peculiar path across the sky."

"What year is it?" Natsu asked abruptly.

The elder blinked at him in confusion. "I am sorry… I do not think I understand."

"It's X791 for us," the young man prompted.

"X… 791…" Daun shook his head. "Please forgive me, but I truly do not understand this. Your year reckoning is not one I am familiar with."

Exchanging looks of surprise and unease, Lucy and Natsu were at a loss. This certainly wasn't what they were expecting to hear. "What the hell…" the dragon slayer muttered.

"It is possible the curse affects our sense of time or perhaps even the flow of time itself," Daun offered. "It is difficult to track the hours in a consistent way. I am not sure I could accurately tell you how much time has passed or if it has passed for us at all."

"Wow," Lucy breathed, feeling her stomach pitch with apprehension. "That's a very powerful curse if it can do that."

"Indeed," Tarsk agreed, slipping into the discussion as he approached. "It may be difficult if not impossible to unravel such a thing, even for ones such as yourselves."

Biting off a chunk of flatbread, Natsu chewed noisily and gestured with the remainder. "There's gotta be _some_ clues, right? Do you guys remember anybody strange being around or any kind of weird objects showing up? Some kind of changes happening?"

"Well," Daun said slowly as he mulled over the question. "You are the first newcomers we have encountered since the curse struck. The only visitors we would have before were known to us and came from neighboring villages. However… As you ask about the strange…"

Perking up with interest, the dragon slayer made a supportive motion. "Yeah?"

"There is the grove where we once left offerings for the forest guardian during the times of year we occupied this place." The elder hesitated at the sharp look he received from Tarsk but continued anyway. "We have been unable to approach it after the curse. Anyone who goes near finds themselves turned around in the forest, yet we have no trouble in all the areas surrounding it."

"That sounds promising and suspicious," Lucy said, nodding her head thoughtfully. "What is this forest guardian?"

Shaking his head with a dismissive chuckle, the shaman smiled. "It's just a _legend_. No one has ever seen -"

"Just because it cannot be seen with your eyes -" Daun started.

"We have no need of a _mythical_ guardian!" Tarsk cut him off. "It did not protect us when we were attacked by those dragons, and it did not prevent -"

"Because we _stopped_ paying our respects and leaving offerings when Llamalla was no longer able to travel -"

Natsu held up a hand to halt the rapid fire argument. "I think we get it. Mysterious grove that no one can enter sounds like a good place to start looking."

Lucy observed the display, curious about the disagreement but not ready to dig deeply into something that might be quite personal between two authority figures. "I think you're right. We should check this place out."

"I am not sure that would be wise," the shaman cautioned. "We do not know if it is dangerous, or if you would even be able to approach -"

"If they believe it is the best decision, we have no place to stop them," Daun said confidently, and Lucy wondered if he wasn't still a bit peeved from being undermined about the guardian. "If these two are truly our fated saviors then no barrier will hold them back. I defer to your judgment, Lady Lucy."

"But first," Llamalla materialized in the middle of the tense exchange and completely ignored the dark glance Tarsk gave her, "I think our guests might appreciate the opportunity to bathe." She extended a weathered hand towards where a group of women and children were gathering. "If you will follow me."

Lucy quickly followed, already feeling the slightly grimy sensation of having not gotten in her normal hygiene routine, and Natsu traipsed along behind without comment. The group didn't travel far, only going to the bank of the crisp stream that ran near the village edge.

"Um…" Lucy hesitated when she saw some of the other women starting to strip off the layers of their colorful clothes. "Is there a separate space for guys…?"

"Feeling shy, dear?" the elderly woman teased. "Your young man does not seem to be." Sure enough, Natsu had tossed his coat, belt, and sandals on the ground and was in the process of removing his pants. Lucy blushed and turned away, but not before noticing the appreciative glances the dragon slayer's highly toned physique was getting from the others.

The blonde fiddled with the hem of her shirt. Why did she struggle so much with this? "I just thought since we're strangers… or maybe that men would bathe somewhere else…"

"Ah, our men know better than to try anything foolish," Llamalla chortled. "They just usually bathe later in the day after working in the forest or fields. If you would prefer, there is a more secluded area just around the bend."

"N-no, it's fine," Lucy insisted, peeling off her clothes as quickly as she could and retreating into the cool water.

It wasn't a big deal, she privately reiterated. She'd been in communal baths before, with Natsu even, and this wasn't really any different. Using some of the gritty, soapy substance one of the other girls passed to her, she scrubbed at her limbs and ducked her head under the surface of the stream. It would be quick, she'd be clean, and then they'd be on their way. No big deal at all.

"Llamalla, do you mind if I ask about the guardian?" the celestial wizard said, sweeping some of her dripping locks out of the way. "The chieftain mentioned your name."

"Oh, that!" The old woman nodded. "My family was once the caretakers of all the sacred sites in the lands we regularly traveled through. We were charged with arranging offerings for the guardian, and I confess it was my favorite of places. I am afraid I have not been able to perform my duties the way I once did since the curse sealed the grove."

"Did you ever see it? The guardian?"

Llamalla smiled. "I cannot say I ever had the honor. When I was a child, my father swore he once saw a man's shadow that transformed into a huge bird. He said the wind from its wings was great enough to sway the trees, and it kicked up such a storm that it knocked him over. But he… had a habit of sampling the ceremonial liquors from time to time, so I was never sure."

Something brushed her leg, startling Lucy out of her train of thought, and before she could shout a warning Natsu popped up, showering water everywhere. "Hey," he started, but was cut off when she roughly shoved him backwards into the stream again.

"What are you doing?! Geez!" the girl cried. The village women laughed at the scene, the fire wizard's pouting, drenched face and Lucy's hands on her hips. Unfortunately, the blonde momentarily forgot that she was only waist deep in the water, putting her breasts on full display.

And he looked. He definitely looked. Before she had a chance to wrap her arms around herself and sink back into the current, Natsu's eyes dropped just long enough to assuredly get an eye full. Instead of commenting, he just blew out a spray of water and headed towards the shore. "I just wanted to tell you I was done. Didn't hafta get violent with me."

Her face was burning. Before, she might've put it down to Natsu suddenly having an attack of normal male hormones, but he only ever seemed to focus his intermittent perversities on her, and lately it was happening more often. More frustrating was how often her cultivated sense of propriety and embarrassment got in the way of taking a chance on something she wanted.

Just last week, she'd accidentally barged in on him using her shower and just stood there ogling his very nearly naked body. The towel dangerously loose around his lean hips and the fine droplets of water trailing down his sculpted torso made it so hard to look away. He'd seemed almost curious and waiting for her to do _something_. Unfortunately, that something had been her yelling and slamming the door rather than tackling him to the tiled floor like she very much wished to.

If she could just get over this irritating tendency to overreact, she had the feeling there might be something pretty amazing on the other side. Maybe she needed to just do something drastic…

"Oh my, I know that look." A woman who appeared to be in her thirties nudged her in the side. "He's quite taken with you, is he not?"

"W-what?" Lucy blurted intelligently. "No, it's not like that at all!" And there she went again, running full tilt into the wall of her ground-in obligation to decorum.

Laughing, the woman simply nodded. "You can tell yourself that now, but when he cannot take his eyes off you… I do not think it will be long before he is asking for a chance to feast more than those pretty eyes of his on you."

"They will have beautiful children, do you think?" Llamalla put in, receiving quick agreement from the others. "There is little as grand as a fated match."

"Oh geez," the blonde muttered. "It's not _fate…_ " She was pretty sure Mirajane would fit right in this conversation, which made her think of home and the task ahead of them. Quickly, she went back to washing herself.

Several hours later, the two wizards were tromping through the forest while Lucy stared intently at the map Daun had given them. She had set aside the odd behavior of the shaman and the chieftain in favor of hunting down any possible clue that could tell them how to break the stupid curse.

"Are we lost again?" Natsu had been plodding along beside her with his hands in their customary laced position behind his head, oddly quiet. Until now.

With an exasperated noise, Lucy lowered the map and glared at him. "We are _not_ lost. We weren't lost before, and we're not lost _now._ " She brought the parchment back up to her face and muttered, "Not _my_ fault there was a dumb prophecy sitting in the middle of our path."

Silence reigned again for a few more minutes. Noting an enormous stump that the elder had used as a landmark, the celestial wizard angled her steps to the West. She spared a glance at her partner to make sure he was following and noticed his keen nose still crinkling periodically.

"Are we almost there?" he whined when he saw her looking in his direction. "This is getting boring."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Yes, and why do you keep sniffing the air? Do you smell something?"

He paused, letting his hands drop to his sides before answering. "This forest smells… weird."

"Weird? Weird how?" Her brow furrowed, concerned by anything that would tip off her companion's draconic nose.

"Weird _new_ ," Natsu explained with a grimace. "Like it's never been traveled or something. There are not a lot of people or… I dunno. I guess no modern smells, if that makes any sense."

Cocking her head, the girl frowned. "That's… really strange. People pass through this forest all the time. What do you think it means?"

"That we're not in Fiore anymore." The dragon slayer's mouth was pressed into a thin line, and he very obviously wasn't joking despite what under any other circumstances would be a ludicrous statement.

Lucy had no response to that, deciding to concentrate on where her feet were going in the thick underbrush. He was definitely right that this particular area didn't seem to have seen much traffic, and there was no worn path. The map indicated that the grove should be close, though.

Pushing her way past a mass of vines and tall ferns, the girl stopped short at the sight before her. She only had a second to goggle at the beautiful, verdant clearing before Natsu plowed right into her back, nearly sending her toppling forward into the grass.

He grabbed her arm, starting to apologize, but left his mouth hanging open in surprise. The lush meadow sprawled out in front of them, surrounded by a ring of ancient looking trees. Wildflowers bloomed in clumps, lending their sweet fragrance to the air and splashes of vivid color amongst the green. The strange stone altar in the center was the only thing causing dissonance in the otherwise bucolic scene.

"Wow," Lucy said.

"No kidding," Natsu agreed, stepping cautiously around her. "Maybe there's something to this prophecy thing after all. We didn't have any trouble getting here."

"I can't say I'm all that enthusiastic about it, but I guess I'll take what I can get if it'll help us out of this." She had never seen a place like this in her life. It just seemed so terrifyingly _alive._ The air practically vibrated with magic.

His nose picked up the natural scents of flora and something strange that was standing out loud and clear. "I smell something really weird. Kinda familiar, but…" Sniffing zealously now, the dragon slayer steadily moved towards the great stone monument. He pressed his nose to the rock and inhaled deeply, eyebrows creasing.

Having followed closely behind, Lucy waited for a few moments before questioning him. "What? What is it?"

"I smelled it all over the place since we got here, but it was too weak for me to figure out what it was. It's really strong right here." He looked up at her sharply, eyes shining with leashed optimism. "Lucy… It smells like _dragon_."

She couldn't help the gasp that popped out. Her first impulse was to ask if he was sure, but before she spoke, the girl realized there was no way Natsu would be mistaken about such a thing. "Do you think it's still here?"

"No. Maybe? I dunno." He shook his head, bracing himself with palms lying flat on the smooth altar top. "If it was here, the smell would be stronger all around the area. The weird thing is that _just this_ ," he tapped the stone with his index finger, "smells like a dragon's been here recently… What are you doing?"

Kneeling, the blonde had started running her fingers over the vertical surfaces of the altar's base. "There's writing here. It looks like… but that would be weird."

Natsu snorted. "Weirder than being in a cursed forest that sorta reeks of dragon and has some crazy prophecy attached to it?"

"Good point," she laughed quietly. "This writing looks like the language used for celestial wizards and their spirits to write contracts and communicate. It's just a very old version of it."

His eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. "Okay. I guess that _is_ pretty weird after all."

"Well, I think I'm going to need a bit of help here if I'm going to translate it. The difference in the old form is enough that it'll take me a while trying to do it on my own." She stood, brushing the dirt from her knees, and pulled a silver key from her belt pouch. Grinning and taking a few steps back to give her room to cast her magic, Natsu felt confident that if anyone could solve this expanding puzzle, it was Lucy.

"Open, gate of the southern cross!" she cried, extending the key and unleashing a burst of magical energy. She could feel a strange and heavy resistance from the barrier between worlds and pushed harder with her power, body beginning to shake from the strain. "C'mon!" the girl said through gritted teeth. "Why isn't this working?"

One last mystical shove parted the gate, and Lucy bent forward, wheezing from the exertion. "What happened, Grandpa Cru-" She broke off at the sight of Loke standing where she'd expected the elderly spirit.

"That's a very good question," the lion answered, face grave. "What the hell _is_ going on?"

"I was trying to call Crux," she responded, having gotten her wind back. "We're kind of in a bind here, and I needed someone to help me translate this. What are _you_ doing here?"

"We could feel your summons, but Crux didn't have the power to get through to you. I came instead." He glanced from the dragon slayer to the celestial wizard. "Do you two even know where you are?"

Natsu glared. "No! Actually we have no idea what the heck is going on here. We were in the forest and all of the sudden got caught up in some crazy old curse in this village, and there's a weird prophecy about us breaking it. _And_ I smell dragon."

The last comment had Loke doing a double take. "Dragon? Wait." He held up a hand when the fire mage opened his mouth. "Save that for later. I'm pretty sure I have limited time here, so let me get this out. You two are in the celestial realm."

"What?!" Lucy's shriek made the two men wince. "Oh no! That would explain some things." She turned to Natsu. "The reason the stars are all wrong and the fact that time seems to be flowing really strangely. We've been here for a whole _day_ already so that means -"

"I don't think time is behaving the way it normally does in our realm here," Loke interrupted, reading his master's growing distress. "You're in some kind of… bubble that we spirits haven't been able to pierce before. Not that we've tried very hard, I'll admit, but it always seemed strange that we couldn't pass through this space."

Natsu raised a rosy eyebrow. "Always seemed? Just how long has this been here?"

"It's difficult to reconcile with your time, but I'd say… maybe 900 of your years?"

"N-nine… _hundred_?!" The dragon slayer gawked along with his partner. "How is that possible?"

Loke shook his head. "I'd love to speculate, but Lucy's going to run out of power much quicker than normal because of this curse 'bubble.' You said you needed this stone translated, so I'd better get to it." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled a pair of glasses similar to the ones he normally sported and swapped them for the ones sitting on his face. "This should speed things up."

Less than thirty minutes later Lucy was already feeling drained. She hadn't been this worn out from a single, non-combat summoning since she first started practicing her magic. Loke had only made it three-quarters of the way around the stone altar, though his magical glasses allowed him to transfer lines of translated text to one of Lucy's notebooks simply by tracing a finger across the page.

"You doing okay?" Natsu questioned her, taking in the paleness of her skin and sweat beading on her forehead.

The girl rubbed at her eyes and breathed deeply. "Yeah… I'll be fine. I don't think I can keep it up much longer, though."

Laying a broad palm against her back, the fire wizard sent a small surge of soothing warmth into her body. She sighed and gave him a little smile of relief. "Don't push yourself too hard, Lucy. We'll figure this out."

Loke stood and approached the two mages who had seated themselves in the grass nearby while they waited. "Sorry. The glasses sped the process up, but not enough for me to completely finish."

"Does it say how to break the curse?" Natsu asked anxiously.

He was surprised by the odd, uneasy smile that appeared on the spirit's face. "Oh, yeah, that… Apparently all you two have to do is make love on the altar."

They stared at him blankly until Lucy started to glower. "That's not funny."

Loke's laughter was strained and not really humorous. "Oh, I really wish I was joking. It's all right here." He passed the notebook back to his master, nodding when she quietly thanked him. "Before you do two kids anything crazy, I'm going to do some research and see if any of the other spirits know something helpful. I can't pass through here freely, so you'll need to summon me again after your magic power has recovered."

He paused and turned to Natsu. "She can't just call us the way she normally does, so make sure you look after her."

The dragon slayer nodded seriously. "Yeah, this place is kinda messed up. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to Lucy."

Giving the two a jaunty salute that did nothing to dispel the tension in the air, Loke dissolved into motes of light. The partners momentarily sat in silence before the celestial wizard exploded. "What kind of insane curse _is_ this?! Who makes a curse where people have to.. to… do _that_ to break it? That's just sick!"

She pushed herself to her feet with aggressive force but underestimated the amount of energy she'd spent keeping Leo's gate open. Her legs buckled, sending her crashing into Natsu with a grunt.

"Take it easy. There's got to be more to the curse than that. It just too weird." He helped her to her feet, keeping his hands on her arms when she swayed unsteadily.

"You're right," she sighed. "Hopefully there's something in the text that will help this all make sense." Scrubbing at her eyes again, the girl slouched into his touch.

"C'mon. You're completely wiped, so I'll carry you." Lucy looked up sharply as Natsu started to maneuver her into a position where he could pick her up. Having her face suddenly so close to his made the dragon slayer pause, and he could just feel her gearing up to protest. "Piggy-back ride?"

Reluctantly agreeing, she climbed on when he knelt in front of her. The trip back to the village was silent other than Natsu checking on Lucy's well being and a few refusals to put her down even when she assured him her strength was returning.

The sun was dipping behind the treetops by the time they arrived, bathing the landscape in orange and gold. Natsu let his partner clamber down from his back at the edge of the village clearing, stopping to wait for the chieftain who was heading in their direction. Tired from the long day and extended uncertainty, the dragon slayer found himself musing that the light made Lucy's hair sort of look like it was crafted from vibrant fire.

And then his stomach started to rumble in hunger.

She cast him an amused glance as Daun and Tarsk arrived to greet them. The elder bowed, but it was obvious from his bearing that he was anxious about their return. "Lady Lucy, Master Natsu, welcome back." He hesitated only briefly before asking, "Did you make it to the altar?"

Lucy choked at his choice of wording, a vision of long white veils and impossibly broad grins above a bow tie zipping quickly past her mind's eye. "Uh, yes. Yes we did. I still need to do some translating on the text we found before we can move forward."

Daun's face lit with tempered hope, and he nodded excitedly. "I understand! Please, join us in our evening meal. You must be tired from your expedition." He gestured for the two partners to follow him, bringing them back to the center of the village.

Though there was no great fire or dancing this time, Lucy observed a simmering anticipation in the villager's activities. It seemed word of their trip to the sacred grove had filtered through and the admiration offered reminded her how much these people were depending on their 'saviors.' She didn't care for the reverent and cautious way they were being treated, but it definitely ramped up her desire to bring an end to their troubles.

The only anomaly in the buoyant atmosphere was Tarsk's stony face as the shaman chose to stand apart from the others. Just as he had before, when he caught her looking in his direction, he bowed and slipped a neutral smile onto his lips before drifting away.

"That guy's creepy," Natsu muttered, leaning in to be heard over the waves of casual conversation surrounding them. "He keeps staring at you."

"Hmm. I suppose we look pretty strange compared to the villagers," she reasoned, but her tone made it clear that she didn't entirely believe it.

"He wasn't eyeballing _me_." Shaking his head, the dragon slayer narrowed his eyes at the shaman's back. "I don't like it. Something's off about that guy. He almost seems mad that we made it back."

Lucy watched the man for a long moment. It definitely wasn't that she disagreed with his assessment, but for the time being… "There's not much we can do about this right now. Let's just keep an eye on him."

Silent while he chewed and swallowed the piece of bread he'd bitten into, Natsu finally asked, "Do you think that stuff Loke gave you will tell us what to do next?"

Her cheeks flushed darkly thinking of what the celestial spirit had said. "Hopefully there's something _else_ in there." She was trying hard not to let her imagination run away with her, but some deceitful part of her mind tittered gleefully and provided explicit ideas on what a delightful 'chore' breaking the curse could be.

"You okay?" The dragon slayer studied her intently.

Lucy coughed and fanned her blazing face. "Y-yeah! I'm fine. Just tired. I think I want to get some sleep before I start going over the translation."

His nose quivered, scenting the air around her, and his eyebrows twitched. He looked like he was suppressing a smile, and Lucy had the dreadful thought that maybe he could smell what she was _thinking._ That was almost dismissed until his eyes dropped subtly to her lap and then rose back up, and she realized that there was a chance her own body's reaction to her steamy thoughts about him might actually give her away.

Before she had a chance to panic, he rose to his feet and stretched his muscled arms over his head. "I'm bushed too. Let's hit the sack." The fire wizard reached down and helped her up, nodding to Daun when the chieftain looked at them questioningly.

It was hard to ignore the amused and bizarrely awed glances from the villagers watching the young man lead his partner to their private tent. Fresh blood rushed to Lucy's face, making her feel a bit dizzy and much too warm. Somehow she doubted her insistence they were 'only friends' had really convinced anyone, and she couldn't help but feel mortified when thinking how they might react to Loke's revelation on breaking the curse.

Natsu shucked his coat, belt, and sandals the moment he entered the tent, dropping them off to the side. It was dark without the light of the fire or the lamp overhead, and Lucy ran right into him when he stopped moving. "S-sorry!" She'd been absorbed in working off her own footwear.

He inhaled deeply, and she slowed her clumsy, blind movements in expectation of him speaking. The faint drone of the villagers outside filled the silence until he let the breath out in a gusty stream and climbed into the bedding. "C'mon. Tomorrow's gonna be a big day."

A prickle of disappointment filled her stomach that he hadn't been about to address the weighty issue between them after all. She followed him, laying on her side while he rolled over a few times in search of a comfortable position. "Natsu," Lucy said hesitantly, "What if… What if what Loke said is true? That we need to… you know… to break the curse?"

His restless shifting ceased, and he was still for a long moment before answering. "It'll be okay. You're smart. You'll figure something else out." His measured voice was inscrutable in the darkness, and Lucy really wished she could see his expression.

"What if I can't?" she pressed. "What if there _isn't_ another way?"

She felt the covers tug towards him. "You'll do it. Have more faith in yourself."

"I'm being serious here!" the blonde hissed.

"And so am I!" Natsu let out a heavy sigh. He rolled over to face her with awkward, jerky movements, not wanting to squash her or fall off the stack of blankets that made up their bedding. "It'll be fine. We can't get too wound up over this."

Eyes straining to see him in the darkness, the celestial wizard bit her lip. She would love to just put the topic aside as he suggested, but her nagging worries were making it difficult. "You don't think we should discuss this at all? I feel like it would be better to come to an understanding _now_ than get blind-sided -"

"Lucy." He levered himself up on his elbow, dragon sharp eyes picking out her silhouette in the gloom. "I don't know what you want me to say here. It's not that I don't… That I wouldn't want… I mean, with you… Damn it." His sigh was ragged this time, and she found she was involuntarily holding her breath while he took a minute to collect his thoughts. "I don't want to get forced into something like that, especially not with you."

 _Ouch_ , her brain supplied, but it thankfully didn't reach her mouth. Maybe she'd been reading too much into his behavior after all. "I just thought we should be prepared… for the worst, apparently," she muttered, burrowing a bit more into the finely embroidered blanket covering her.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like _that_." Natsu covered her right hand with his own larger one before he realized what he was doing, and Lucy tried to tell herself that the flip flopping of her belly was just a claustrophobic reaction to having him suddenly loom over her in the dark. "Uh, I just meant that you're my best friend, and… I don't want you to have to do something like that unless… unless you _want_ to."

"Oh." She smiled softly. He could be so cute when he wasn't breathing fire and tearing holes through buildings. The deviant bit of her mind managed to worm her next words out against her will. "And what if I _do_ want to?"

Struck as still as if Gray had frozen him solid, Natsu didn't move a muscle, and Lucy feared that she'd jumped feet first into something dangerous. "Uh, I mean… That is…" she stammered. Her heart was ramming against her ribs like a jackhammer.

His laughter sounded a bit shaky, but saved her from blundering through an excuse. "I guess… that would be different." Natsu laid his head down, surprisingly her slightly when he didn't attempt to put a more comfortable distance between them. He didn't let go of her hand either. "Maybe we can save this for tomorrow? I know there's more stuff for us to say, but you're too beat to really do this now."

"S-sure." Mind leaping wildly, Lucy couldn't help but pick apart their conversation. Did he mean what she thought he meant? Did he really want that kind of relationship with her? Was she asking too much of him? Maybe he felt the same -

"You're thinking too hard," he groaned, giving her fingers a small squeeze. "Go to sleep. We'll talk about it later."

"Sorry," she whispered, and he mumbled a reply she couldn't decipher. Even with his insistence, Lucy couldn't shake the tumbling mental acrobatics. What would it be like? Would he be gentle or rough? Careless or thoughtful? Frenzied with desire or patient and understanding? Any of those options sounded so very Natsu, so it was hard to be sure.

And it somehow seemed so very illicit to be thinking these things with him sleeping close enough for her to feel his body heat. She drifted off, lulled by thoughts of warm hands and smoky kisses.


	4. The one with the fight

_**Summary:**_ _Getting lost in the woods is the least of their worries when Natsu and Lucy blunder their way into a cursed village and a prophecy that leads them to understand something about themselves._

 _Big thanks to Snogfairy for taking a look at this and giving me the shove I needed to actually fix a bunch of stuff I was waffling on!_

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _Mostly pretty PG-13, but there's a bit of violence, cursing, off screen death of OCs that happened long in the past, and a_ really _NSFW scene towards the end. I'll admit this is a little_ weird _and definitely darker in tone than my fluffy stuff. Nothing too bleak, I promise. I should probably warn everyone now that I have some strange kinks, though. It only seems fair to alert you all going into this._

 _For anyone reading this on FF net the NSFW section was primarily cut, so if it feels like there's something missing, there actually is. If you'd like to read that redacted part, hop on over to my Archive of Our Own account (there's a link in my profile) and you can find it there once we get to that section. It's not exactly important for the story, so you're not missing anything if you'd rather skip the naughtiest bits._

 _The time frame also got a bit messed up thanks to some things that happened during the Tartarus manga arc. I had originally planned this to take place in that ambiguous post-Tartarus future, but, well, Mashima had certain people show up..._

 _ **Author's Note Chapter Addition:**_ _I have a really hard time writing combat scenes, so hopefully this one isn't too awful to read. And hopefully the bad guy dialogue isn't too painfully cheesy either. For some reason villains really like to monologue in my head space. Can't seem to help it._

* * *

Lucy stared down at her chest with one eyebrow spasming violently. Normally, looking at her own breasts in the morning wouldn't be cause for anger, but this time Natsu's pink head was pillowed on them with a blissful smile curving his mouth. The idiot had managed to wind himself completely around her in the middle of the night, still clutching her right hand like a lifeline.

His other arm had snaked under her, and she could feel the flat of his warm palm against the skin of her back where her top didn't cover. There was even a small slick of drool right on top of her cleavage. Those onyx eyes were still shut, and he was sound asleep. At least he'd better be.

If she was honest with herself, though, he did look pretty adorable. She just wished he could do it in a less awkward way. Maybe she could just twist herself out of his embrace…

Or maybe if she shifted that way…?

Those coal dark eyes snapped open, and he stared up at her. "Lucy…" A jaw cracking yawn stretched his mouth, chin digging into her soft mounds, after which he smacked his lips loudly. "Man, you're the best pillow. I slept so good."

Her blush was like a raging wildfire, rising from her neck to the roots of her hair. "I swear, if you don't move _right now_ -"

"Don't be like that," he cajoled, voice husky from sleep. It did terrible, glorious thing to her insides when he sounded like that. The half lidded eyes that gazed down at her when he lifted his head didn't help either. He hovered over her for a much too long moment.

And she noticed his smile had fallen away.

"What?" she said softly, rolling over just a bit so she was half on her back. His arms were supporting him and just happened to be positioned in a way that caged her. Something about this posture made heat unfurl in her belly.

" _What_ what?" he whispered back, watching her intently.

Lucy pressed her lips together before replying. "You're staring at me. Does my hair look really weird or something?"

That drew a gentle sigh out of him. "Nah. You look… perfect. I was just thinking…" There was a strange sort of reticence in his manner that tickled her curiosity. It bloomed into full anticipation when he started to lean towards her. "About what you said last night. That maybe… you wanted…"

Her heart seized up in her throat, making it hard to swallow and keeping her perfectly still. The way he searched her face for a sign of _something_ while his head kept getting closer made all sorts of conflicting things leap and shout in her mind. She resisted the urge to pinch herself in case she might be dreaming. If that was the case, Lucy _did not_ want to wake up and miss the rest of this.

Parted lips hung over hers, and her hands haltingly reached for him, hovering awkwardly in the space between them. The warm breath that drifted over her mouth when he spoke made sparks shoot everywhere in her body like a flint being struck. "I know I'm not the best at saying things - you're better with words - but I should tell you that I don't want things to always stay the same."

"W-what?" she croaked. The celestial wizard desperately needed clarification _right now_. If this was real, she didn't want to blow yet another chance.

The girl felt the blankets under her tighten as his fingers clutched the material. He looked so _intense_. "I think I want more." The sentence tumbled out of his mouth like he was afraid it would escape before he could say it, and she suddenly couldn't find enough oxygen to supply her brain. "I don't know _what_ exactly, but I just know that I -"

"Good morning!"

Llamalla's cheerful greeting had Lucy sitting up so fast she bashed the crown of her head on Natsu's chin. The dragon slayer fell back, groaning as much from the shocking pain as the interrupted moment. He'd thought he'd had the perfect, private occasion where they weren't either in mortal danger or exhausted to finally have that serious-enough-to-freak-him-out discussion about the future with his partner.

Apparently he was wrong.

"Oh dear," the old woman trilled. "It seems I really should have waited. I did not mean to disturb such a tender scene. I can return later."

"It's… okay," Lucy sighed, rubbing the top of her head and carefully not looking her friend in the eyes. Her heart was still thundering under her rib cage while her thoughts tried to all cram themselves into the limited space in the forefront of her mind. That deplorable block of embarrassment had wedged itself right into the space between her mouth and her feelings again. She crawled out of their bedding and quickly put on her shoes.

The dragon slayer's growling stomach gave him the momentum to roll to his feet and pull on his discarded clothing. "We can talk about it later," was all he said, and the set of his features promised _things_ when he caught the blonde's gaze.

"As you wish," Llamalla shrugged and led them out towards the village square. "There is a very nice porridge if you like. I made far too much for just myself this morning, so I would be grateful if you two would eat the rest. Of course, there is fresh fruit to go with it."

Lucy nodded and accepted a bowl topped with what looked like sliced peaches. There was not the slightest hesitation from the fire wizard as he started to gobble his own portion down, barely using his spoon. His teammate attempted to make up for his lack of manners with her excellent ones. "Thank you very much. This is delicious."

"Your dragon prince seems to have quite the appetite," the elder woman said. Her mouth pulled up at the edges, making the skin around her eyes crinkle even more. "Reminds me of my son."

"Your son?" Lucy asked. "Have we met him yet?"

"Oh no, my lady. He and my husband were killed in a dragon attack many years ago." Llamalla waved her hand as if to dismiss the event, but her eyes looked far away for a few seconds.

Natsu froze with his bowl tipped up to drain the dregs. He should've expected something like this considering how the villagers spoke about their dragon problems, but it still felt a bit like being slapped upside the head with a painful realization. Stiffly, he set his bowl down and watched the old woman warily.

"I'm so very sorry," Lucy said for the both of them.

The woman's smile turned soft and kind. "There's no reason for you to be sorry, maiden. That is the world we live in, fraught with danger as much as reward."

"Yeah," Natsu muttered. "I guess so."

"Oh, but such rewards!" Llamalla's chuckle sounded a bit devious. "And to have someone so fit and true by your side to share the pleasures with. Ah, to be young and in love."

Lucy's face burned, and she noticed a number of other villagers smirking at the two guests. She couldn't help but wonder what sort of gossip the old lady was spreading. "I'm going to go study Loke's translation," she said abruptly. "In private. Where people can't see me."

"But what'm I gonna do?" the dragon slayer whined. "It's boring without -"

The look she shot him stomped his complaint into the ground. "We'll finish our talk later, but right now I can't afford that kind of… distraction. I'm sure you'll find something to do. Why don't you ask the chieftain if you could help them somehow?"

"I _guess_." He scuffed his sandal against the dirt petulantly. Watching her walk back to the tent killed the rest of his previously good mood. As much as he realized he'd only be in the way while she worked, Natsu was itching to hear her response to what he'd been about to say earlier.

"Ahem…" The noise of Daun clearing his throat grabbed the wizard's notice. The old man had a small smile on his mouth, and the pink haired boy had a sneaking suspicion he'd overheard Llamalla's teasing. "Master Natsu, if you would consent, perhaps you could assist us with removing some stones that are blocking our efforts to expand our vegetable fields."

"Sure thing!" the fire mage said, rubbing his hands together eagerly. A bit of good old fashioned hard work was just the thing to distract himself.

Rather than joining the group of people using precisely placed levers and well planned teamwork to roll a boulder, Natsu dug his fingers into the earth under another one and lifted it with a grunt and minimal strain. Brute force was really more his style anyway.

A quick jerk and heft had it secured in his arms, and he carefully picked his way over to the area the chieftain had designated. Making sure his feet were out of the way, the dragon slayer let the stone drop with a deep, reverberating thunk and dusted his hands in a satisfied gesture. "Piece o' cake," he declared.

"A-amazing!" Natsu turned and saw the squad of villagers were gaping at him. "You could move that by _yourself_?" Radi asked incredulously.

"He _is_ the son of a dragon king and a master wizard as well," Maulin reminded them. "We should not be surprised if he is capable of more than an ordinary man."

Swelling up with pride, Natsu gave the most casual shrug he could manage. "Hey, it's no big deal. Just a rock."

He grinned toothily, but it frayed a bit at the edges when he took a good look at the people staring at him. Though the two friendly hunters seemed more in awe of him than anything else, the dragon slayer picked up the subtle, acrid notes of fear and apprehension from the others in their team. Their eyes were wide and while they were trying to hide it, he could see the faintest traces of horror in their expressions.

The looks were starting to prickle at his self-consciousness, and Natsu coughed nervously. "I'll… just go grab that other rock over there…"

Physical labor always helped take his mind off anything troubling him, but as he shifted stones, hammered in fence posts, and helped clear out brush and old logs, the blatant stares and murmured words grated on his nerves.

"How do you think a dragon and a celestial maiden become lovers?" one woman whispered to her friend.

"The legend says she saw a warrior and not a monster. He _is_ rather handsome for a beast," the friend answered with a titter. "Perhaps a gentle maiden such as she did not understand that a savage creature could be _dangerous_ in close quarters."

"I wager he _seduced_ her with his wild ways," a third woman put in. "That does not seem so bad a fate, even if his manner _is_ barbaric compared to a human."

Rolling his eyes, Natsu muttered under his breath, " _Gentle_ maiden?" Only someone who'd never gotten hit in the head with a 'Lucy Kick' or smacked with her whip would be stupid enough to call her a 'gentle' anything. The rest of it was just ridiculous.

Though, the 'seducing with his wild ways' part sounded like it could be fun.

Dropping a large pile of freshly chopped wood near the village square's cook fire, the dragon slayer glanced up and spotted the pack of children that had spent the morning watching his every move while trying to hide behind the adults that were going about their routines. "Hey, guys. Wanna see something cool?"

With a grin and a flourish, Natsu produced three small spheres of fire and started to juggle them. HIs broad smile faltered when they all gasped and scattered in different directions before he could even get to his favorite tricks. "Huh…" Letting the flames flicker and die, he scratched at the back of his head. "Maybe I should've tried breathing fire instead?"

"It is your powers." Natsu's head whipped to the side, spotting a calm looking Tarsk with his tattooed face and well groomed hair. "They are frighteningly similar to those of a dragon, so I am sure you are not surprised by their reaction."

The fire wizard compressed his lips into a firm line. "I haven't done anything to them, and they're all asking me to break this dumb curse too," he grumbled. Their oscillating behavior was bugging him, swinging from treating him like some kind of divine hero one moment and then calling him a beast the next. It's not like he was scary… usually.

Tarsk raised a shoulder in a lackadaisical shrug. "We have spent our lives being terrorized by those creatures. If we are truthful, this land has been something of a blessed reprieve. To have a monster in human form stumble into our midst after enjoying peace -" He broke off the thought as Natsu's expression soured from disgruntled to angry.

"I'm not a _monster_ , and Igneel isn't either," the dragon slayer said vehemently. "Besides, if you guys are so happy here, then why was everyone throwing a big party when they thought we might be able to get rid of this curse, huh?"

"You do not aspire to be a dragon yourself, then? You said that your magic allows you to take on their aspects, so it would seem that is your ultimate goal." Tarsk's chin took a superior tilt that made the wizard want to smash it with his fist.

"That's not the same!"

"I fail to see how your desire to follow in their beastial ways would make you anything less than a dragon with a flimsy human facade. Underneath you would be just as much a monster, beholden to your instincts and devoid of the compassion of humanity."

Natsu froze, an image of Acnologia snapping into full color in his mind. Was that truly what it was to become a dragon? Was it impossible to hold on to yourself with the transformation, or would he be able to cling fast to his personality and the things that made him _him_? How high could the price for the strength to protect those he cared about get?

"That's not… I don't want…" He grit his teeth, finding he didn't have the words to explain himself. He knew full well that not all dragons were so brutal and malicious, but after what he'd seen in Crocus, it was foolish to deny the calamity they could cause. The thought of becoming like the behemoth that assaulted them on Tenrou terrified him, but if it would save the ones he loved…

The shaman raised an open palm placatingly. "Forgive me, master wizard. I have let my unruly tongue get the best of me. You and the maiden have been so… _generous_ in offering your aid to us."

Natsu let out a snort of steam, vindictively pleased when the creepy Tarsk took a step back. "Whatever. I'm gonna grab some grub and take it to Lucy." Without waiting for the shaman to comment, he spun on his heel and strode towards the tent. He only paused to request a plate of food the villagers were preparing for the afternoon break.

Pushing aside the tent flap, Natsu entered and found Lucy sitting cross-legged with papers strewn around her in a semi-circle. She looked up and smiled at the sight of him, taking off her Gale-Force Reading Glasses. "Oh, wow, lunch already? I lost track of time!"

He dropped down to sit in front of her as she made space by collecting the torn out pages of her notebook and stacked them neatly off to the side. The girl quickly snatched up a piece of tasty fruit from the plate her partner set between them and crammed it in her mouth hungrily. His silence and intense expression quickly clued her in to his bad mood. "Did something happen?" she asked cautiously.

He said nothing for a moment, taking the time to chew and swallow a piece of bread first. "You don't think I'm a monster, do you?"

"What? Maybe sometimes when you -" she started to joke, but his eyes darkened in a way that surprised her. "Where did this come from?"

Taking another, overly large bite to finish off his bread, he mumbled around the mouthful, "Something that shady guy said…"

She carefully considered her next words, wanting to clear up whatever this uncharacteristic doubt was. "I definitely don't think you're a monster, Natsu. You're one of the best people I've ever known, and I trust you with my life. Don't let that guy get to you."

This seemed to satisfy him, and he started digging into the rest of the food with his normal obnoxious appetite. "So, what'd you find out from those notes?"

"Oh, right!' She brushed a few crumbs from her lap and swallowed the food in her mouth. "The first part is actually a story, and I think it explains a _lot_ about what's going on here. If it's true, then… Well."

"Go on," Natsu prompted with a piece of jerky. He always liked it when Lucy told him stories.

"It's about a dragon and a celestial wizard who… fell in love." She didn't meet his eyes, looking at one of the pages instead with a fine pink blush staining her cheeks.

The fire wizard stopped gnawing on his dried meat momentarily. "For real? Oh wait! That legend…"

"Exactly," she agreed. "The whole 'celestial maiden and her dragon' thing probably came from this story. It could have something to do with why the two of _us_ got caught up in the curse too since our powers are similar. What's more, I think this dragon might've been the forest guardian Daun and Llamalla told us about."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Apparently this dragon could change his shape into a human, and he used that to keep an eye on all the beings that live in the forest."

Natsu's eyes widened. "A shape shifting dragon? I think Wendy once said Grandeeney could do something like that but only into a ball of light or whatever, not a human."

"It sounds like a pretty rare ability," Lucy stated, shuffling through the pages next to her. "But I guess he met this woman while he looked human, and she mistook him for a hunter from a neighboring village when he saved her from some bandits. They struck up a friendship, and every day she would bring food to the clearing and have her lunch with him."

"Huh," the fire wizard grunted, starting to get wrapped in the tale.

"Eventually," she continued, "they fell in love, and he showed her his true form. He was sure it would scare her away, but she told him that she loved _who_ he was, not _what_ he was."

"She seriously didn't care?" he asked, leaning in.

Lucy shook her head with a soft smile. "She loved him, and that was enough for her." The warm expression faded a bit as she scanned the words on the notepaper. "But she was supposed to marry a man from her village, so she tried get her father to break the engagement. Her father, the chieftain, was horrified that his daughter could fall in love with someone he saw as a monster, and her fiance said that her wanting to be with the dragon was a sign she'd been corrupted by dark magic."

Natsu shifted, picking up another hunk of dehydrated meat. "So, she gave up, right? She… broke the dragon's heart?"

"Nope. She told them it didn't matter if they approved, that she'd be with the one she loved and intended to leave with him to see the rest of the world."

"Wow," he said, and his eyes studied her face. Lucy had an odd look of determination, as if she was living in the other celestial wizard's shoes and was making the same difficult choice. "She sounds like a tough girl."

"Doesn't she?" His partner's smile was more grim now, and he sensed that whatever was coming wouldn't be kind to the people in the story. "Unfortunately for her, her fiance was _also_ a powerful wizard and was known for defending the village from danger. He convinced the others that the only way to appease the forest spirit and keep the black sorcery that he claimed had corrupted the woman from spreading to the whole village was by sacrificing her."

Sitting up straight, the fire wizard frowned. "Wait. I thought the _dragon_ was the forest spirit. So this guy lied to get them to… _kill her_?" Lucy's stern nod made him grit his teeth. "Why?! Because she wanted to be with someone else instead? He couldn't just be happy for them?"

"I really don't know, Natsu. The story doesn't say," she admitted, "but he apparently cornered her in the forest at the altar, and they fought."

"W-what happened?"

"She lost," Lucy whispered. "The fiance killed her, and the dragon was so hurt and angry that he attacked the village."

Pressing the back of his fist to his grimacing mouth briefly, Natsu shook his head. "That's… I don't…"

"The dragon did a lot of damage, but couldn't bring himself to wipe out his lover's people. In the end, the fiance drove the dragon away with his spells and potions. It looks like the person who actually _started_ the curse was the celestial wizard, as her dying wish, but she didn't have the strength to finish it. The dragon couldn't just let her death go unavenged, so he used the last of his power to make it work, cursing the village to be divided from others… never changing until they learned to accept the love between two different beings."

"Man, no wonder this curse is so strong." The fire wizard rubbed the back of his head and hissed. "Dragon magic. But I thought Loke said the curse was broken by… you know."

Lucy pointed a finger at him, mouth puckering and nose scrunching in irritation. "I know! The part after the story is where the wording for the curse begins, and it's… weird."

"Weird?"

"Yes, weird!" she exclaimed. "The dragon's story sounds more like a cautionary fable, and most of the curse - the part that Loke got translated anyway - is written in the same kind of tone. But there's some parts of it that are just more _crude_. There's even a chunk where it was talking about acceptance and then suddenly goes on to state the villagers wouldn't _remember_ anything until the maiden and the dragon return."

"Return? I thought they were dead."

"It doesn't make any sense! Like two separate sentences mashed together with the words shuffled around. It's like someone rewrote -" Lucy stopped, staring blankly at her partner.

"What -"

"Oh."

"Oh?" He blinked, confused by the revelatory, open mouthed look on her face.

"Oh!" Lucy jumped to her feet, and Natsu scrambled to join her. "Someone else _did_ rewrite that, and I think I know who! If that's true, then why -"

Throwing up his hands, the dragon slayer cried, "What are you talking about?! Hey, wait for me!" He chased after her as she strode out of the tent, face set with conviction. She paused for a half a step, eyes scanning the village grounds before she spotted who she was looking for.

"Chieftain Daun!" she called, making a beeline for the older man with Natsu following in her wake. "I need to speak to you immediately."

The elder tilted his head and waited for the girl to approach. "What is it I can do for you, Lady Lucy? You look quite -"

"What was your daughter's name?" she demanded.

"My… daughter?" His worn face read of confusion. "Please excuse me, but I do not understand. I don't have a daughter."

"What about your wife?"

He blinked. "She died during… childbirth…" His eyes widened and then narrowed. "But how can that be -"

Lucy leaned in, face just inches away. "Think back. Before the curse struck, who did you live with? Think of her mother. Think of the happiest days of your life. Who did you spend them with?"

Daun shook his head, distraught. "I cannot… Why can I not remember?!"

"Try!" she insisted, giving his arm a little shake. "Fight the magic! You can do this."

A crowd was starting to gather, muttering to one another and witnessing the way their chieftain's expression slowly slipped from befuddlement to anguish. "You loved her, didn't you?" Lucy pressed, stepping forward and laying a gentle hand on the man's shoulder.

"Cyra!" he gasped, leaning weakly on his staff. "How could I… How could I forget? What have I _done_?!"

Nearby, Radi's face lit up with recognition and then slid from confusion to horror. "S-she was like my big sister, but I did not stand up for her!" Maulin laid an arm across his shoulders comfortingly. All around, others were having the same kinds of reactions.

"The _curse_ made you forget. It's why no one remembers how long you've really been here. It's like every day resets the clock." The celestial wizard let her eyes rove the mob of villagers. "Are you starting to remember now? Do you remember Cyra and the dragon she fell in love with?" Her gaze skewered the scowling shaman standing behind the others. "Do you remember how _Tarsk_ told you the only way to save your village was to _kill_ her?"

"Whoa, what?" Natsu blurted out.

Lucy was in full blown instruction mode when she turned to him. "The dragon _did_ curse the village, but his was much kinder than whoever changed it. Part of the curse was that the village remains _unchanging_ , and what's more, everyone here remembers what life was like before the curse struck. I realized that the people _here_ had to be the same people from the story!"

Her lips twitched into that slightly self-satisfied smile she got when she had solved an important puzzle. "It would take a skilled wizard to be able to modify a curse like that too. The story on the guardian's altar says that the only other wizard in the village was Cyra's fiance, and the _only_ wizard here now is… Tarsk."

Lucy pointed her finger at the shaman who was being given a growing amount of space by his fellow villagers. " _He's_ the one who changed the curse and made you forget what had happened. It was just a stroke of luck that we came here and things started to unravel. Even if I hadn't figured it out, you would've started to remember on your own. Nine hundred years trapped in this place without any memory of _why_ you were here, all because one man couldn't accept it. The dragon only wanted you to understand that he and Cyra truly loved each other."

Sharp, grating laughter greeted her proclamation. " _Loved_ each other, you say?" Tarsk sneered. "Does anyone here truly believe that one of those beasts is capable of such a thing?"

"Is what Lady Lucy says true?" Daun demanded, clinging desperately to his staff. " _You_ changed the curse?"

"Of course it is true!" the shaman barked. " _I_ am the one who protected this village from the dragons that wanted to wipe us out, not some _false_ forest guardian. I used that monster's curse as a way of protecting us! I came across the creature as it was dying and stole the last of its magic to change the foul hex. We would have been trapped and forced to acknowledge that disgusting, unnatural relationship, but _I_ made it so we are safe here instead. No outsider or monster can reach us, and you do not have to suffer through the memory of her betrayal." His beady eyes shifted to Natsu's angry face. "Or so I _thought_."

"Who would have expected that there would be _two_ foolish women that would let their hearts be stolen by animals? It is quite revolting to say the least, but…" Tarsk paused, an ugly smirk twisting his mouth. "I cannot imagine that even _Lady Lucy_ would be willing to consummate a relationship with a filthy creature parading around in human skin, whether it is to undo my hard work or no."

Natsu snarled at him but heeded Lucy's simple gesture to halt. Her face was serious, and it amused the arrogant shaman. "Oh, what is this? Perhaps obedience is something bred into the mongrel child of a dragon after all."

" _Shut up_ ," the celestial wizard snapped. "Someone like you has no call disparaging a person as good as Natsu. No wonder Cyra rejected you. You aren't even half the man that her dragon was, and -"

The ground buckled under her feet, sending Lucy stumbling. Roots burst out of the ground, guided by Tarsk's magic, and attempted to snarl around her feet. A precise stream of fire sheared off the tendrils, and Natsu tugged his partner safely to the side.

"Bring it on, you bastard!" he growled, rushing towards the other wizard with a flaming arm. He was going to be more than happy to bash the smug look off this guy's face.

Reacting quickly, Tarsk brought his hands together, fists stacked on top of one another, and sharply drew them apart. Dirt spewed in all directions as a wall of thorns surged upwards and intercepted Natsu's iron fist, abrading his knuckles and driving him back a few steps.

Shouting and running, the villagers scrambled to get out of the way of the sudden combat zone, but Natsu was focused on his enemy. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the friendly hunters being wrapped up in sheets of vines that crawled out of the garden. Radi was awkwardly sawing at Maulin's bonds with his hunting knife even as he hung in the creeping plant himself. There'd be no help from them.

Natsu charged forward, grabbing an edge of the impromptu wall and ignoring the prickling thorns. Using his momentum, the dragon slayer sung around to the other side, performing a scything kick that, while it didn't connect, sent Tarsk scurrying backwards. The shaman waited until the fire wizard threw himself forward again to uncork a vial with his thumb and expertly splashed a vibrant purple concoction into his opponent's face.

The liquid burned, and for an anxious moment Natsu thought that it was acid eating into his skin. His rough hands swiped at his face, coming to the swift conclusion that, while it hurt, it wasn't badly damaging his flesh. Maddening stinging in his sinuses from the stench made his eyes water profusely and had him sucking in air through his mouth instead. The smell was strong and heavy enough to settle on the back of his tongue, making him gag.

Practically spitting in rage, the dragon slayer was effectively incapacitated by his extraordinary senses. He couldn't even pull a full breath into his burning lungs and only belatedly resisted when Tarsk kicked him in the chest, sending the pink haired boy tumbling into the dirt.

The shaman laughed, watching him writhe on the ground in pain, reduced to coughing and incoherent snarling. "Ah, look at you now! So confident in yourself, but you really _are_ more beast than boy in the end. That formula is meant to disable full sized _dragons._ It's more than enough for you."

Tarsk planted a vicious kick into the young man's ribs, crooked grin warping his face. "Did you really think that your pure little maiden would ever let her touch her how you want? That she would _give_ herself to you?"

He cackled in wretched mirth, snapping his foot into Natsu's side again. "No human could ever love something like you. Cyra would have come to her senses and regretted such a choice eventually. Perhaps I shall be kind and put you out of your misery before she leaves you alone and broken!" Shifting his hands both low near his left hip, he raised them quickly up and to his right, and his magic pulled more sharp roots out of the ground.

"Open, gate of the lion! Leo!" Lucy shouted, throwing the full weight of her magic and anger against the resisting barrier. Her limbs shook from the strain, shining key extended, but the gate tore open and sent the materializing form of Loke barreling straight for her enemy. "Get 'em!"

Driving his hands downwards, Tarsk sent the roots plunging towards Natsu's vulnerable form only to be intercepted by a splash of bright light. The roots shattered, splinters peppering the combatants, as Loke's fist connected. "With pleasure, Lucy!" the lion answered.

"Y-you… You are a -" the shaman stammered, backing up.

"Indeed I am," Loke responded flippantly. He adjusted his darkened glasses with a cocky smirk. "I don't have a lot of time here, so let's make this quick." Lunging forward with startling speed, the spirit quickly crossed the distance between himself and his enemy. The ground heaved under his feet as Tarsk made a shoving motion with his hands, and Loke stumbled just enough for his powerful swing to miss.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Lucy asked desperately. "What was that stuff he threw at you?" She got no answer as he wheezed and clawed at his watering eyes and burning nose. Seeing him in such obvious pain made her stomach roll over, and Lucy glanced around hastily until her eyes landed on a damp clay pot near one of the tents.

Sprinting towards it, she tried to ignore the way her legs were starting to wobble. Loke's fist was swallowed by light, firing a beam of energy into another wall of roots the shaman had raised. The sound of wood splintering reached her at the same time she felt the drain of energy from keeping the lion's gate open.

With a grunt, Lucy lifted the water filled pottery and staggered back to her teammate. She upended the vessel over his head, pouring the contents onto the dragon slayer and fumbling to keep from dropping the pot on his face.

Natsu sputtered, coughing as he inhaled some of the water, and scrubbed rapidly at his face. "Lucy," he rasped," you're the best!"

She smiled tiredly, sinking to her knees as her legs buckled. "Yeah, well, I think I'm out of magic now, so I _really_ hope you've got something up your sleeve."

"Natsu!" Loke called, "I need you to kick this guy's ass." His form started to dissolve into particles of light. "Sorry I couldn't do more."

He faded away as the dragon slayer swayed to his feet, eyes red rimmed and full of ferocious rage. "You did enough. Now it's _my_ turn to -"

A shriek snapped his focus to the side as Lucy was dragged upwards, vines snaring around her ankles and pulling her into the air. She grabbed for the tendrils to avoid being dangled upside down and managed to keep herself more or less horizontal. "Damn it! Natsu, don't worry about me!" As much as she hated being useless, she was now completely drained of energy _and_ stuck.

Chest expanding as he sucked in a large volume of air, Natsu breathed out a violent blast of fire that withered the grass underfoot from the intense heat. Tarsk's eyes widened, and he hurled himself to the ground with his hands covering his head before the deafening roar of flames scorched above his back and set fire to the broken roots that littered the battlefield.

The silence that seemed to rush into the area after the fiery burst ended felt somehow just as loud.

Scrambling to his feet, the shaman only made it to a clumsy crouch by the time Natsu descended on him. The dragon slayer's flaming iron fist connected solidly with his jaw, and Lucy could hear the sound of knuckles impacting flesh even from the distance of her position. Tarsk slumped to the dirt in an undignified heap, completely still other than his breathing.

Natsu stared down at him for a long moment, attempting to let the tension and anger drain out of himself. He blew out a sigh and suddenly sneezed. "Ugh," he muttered, wiping at his running nose with his sleeve.

"Don't do _that_!" Lucy scolded. "That's just disgus… You know what? Never mind. Just get me down from here, please." Her fingers were starting to ache from digging into the vines, and she wasn't sure how much longer her grip would last.

"Yeah, sorry!" Her partner scurried over and climbed the wall of vegetation quickly. It took him a few minutes of study and careful prying to begin to loosen her trapped feet.

It gave her enough time to inspect his curiously closed off features. Normally, the dragon slayer would be crowing after such a victory, but Lucy noticed the furrowed brows and clenched jaw. "Natsu… Are you -"

Her inquiry was interrupted by a squawk as she started to tumble, legs finally free. It was only his grip on her ankle that kept her from dropping painfully to the ground. "Ack! My skirt!" Lucy's fingers flailed to help the material fight gravity.

Hefting her easily into the crook of his arm, Natsu jumped down and set her back on her feet. She leaned on him gratefully when he didn't pull away, looking up to see Daun, face taught and grave, hurrying towards them. The man looked even older now as the weight of grief settled over his being like a shroud.

"I… I…" he started, voice clogged with emotion. "Please… forgive me! All of this, it is my own fault." The chieftain sobbed. "I did not protect Cyra, and I did not even remember the terrible thing I had done!"

By now the villagers were tentatively gathering around and whispering to themselves. Lucy sighed softly, taking in their apprehension, expressions betraying fear and pain and realization. She glanced at Natsu and noted how tense he still was. It would be up to her to resolve this. "I think most of the blame can be put on Tarsk. He was able to convince you all to turn on her by manipulating your trust in him. _He's_ the one who killed her in the end, and if he hadn't you might've had time to realize what you were doing."

She paused, lips pursing as she mulled over what to say next. There was only one thing that resounded in her heart. "It's not my place to forgive you, Daun, but I have a feeling your daughter would. I think she just wanted you to understand that her feelings were real."

"I do!" Daun stressed, fingers tight against the wood of his staff. "I think I knew that even then. I was just so afraid of losing her to… to…" He stopped speaking, rheumy eyes drifting to Natsu's deliberately impassive face. "To someone who _loved_ her so much."

Mocking laughter jolted everyone. Tarsk was lying on his stomach on the ground, hands being tied behind his back by a ruthless looking Radi, but he had regained consciousness. "What a shame! Your revelation is centuries too late, not to mention _grotesque_. To accept these _things_ as people is to bring about the very destruction of ourselves."

Lucy shook her head. "You just don't give up, do you?" Looking at the savage grin on the man's face made her nauseous. "You lost. We beat you."

"It does not matter," Tarsk cooed, voice absurdly sweet. "Back then such an admittance might have been enough to break the monster's curse, but now…" He laughed again, shoulders shaking with his perverse amusement. "Just how much are you willing to sacrifice to save us, girl? Will your feed yourself to his beastly appetite? Or perhaps someone like you would enjoy -"

Natsu's sandal shod foot set against his jaw stopped him cold. "You've said enough." The dragon slayer's face was atypically grim, and Lucy felt a momentary patter of concern that her friend might actually do something cruel. She breathed a small sigh of relief when he simply stepped back looking disgusted.

"I am afraid he does have some point as defeating him has brought us no closer to solving our troubles," Daun said. The man sagged slightly, folding in on himself. "The curse still remains. My foolishness and confidence in a man I should never have trusted has trapped us all."

"It's okay." Lucy drew herself up straight as a pin in contrast to the chieftain's deflated posture. There was no need to let the beleaguered villagers know how perturbed she actually was. Right now they needed heroes. "There was more writing on the altar, and I bet if we go back I can finish translating it. I'm sure there's something in there that will fix things."

Gazing at her in disbelief, the elder allowed himself a fragile smile. "You would continue to help us despite all that has happened here? All that I have done?"

"It was not just you," Maulin put in. "None of us protested when Tarsk said sacrificing Cyra was the only way to save ourselves. I remember…" The hunter shook his head harshly. "I am as much to blame."

"You guys can work out who's fault it was later," Natsu announced. "Lucy and I are gonna try to figure this out. Just make sure this jerk stays tied up… and maybe gag him too. And tie that a little tighter." Gesturing to Radi, he smirked when Tarsk groaned at the young hunter's hard tug on his bonds. "That should work."

Lucy exchanged a nod with her partner and then with Daun. "Right. Leave everything to us."


	5. The one with the confessions

_**Summary:**_ _Getting lost in the woods is the least of their worries when Natsu and Lucy blunder their way into a cursed village and a prophecy that leads them to understand something about themselves._

 _Big thanks to Snogfairy for taking a look at this and giving me the shove I needed to actually fix a bunch of stuff I was waffling on!_

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _Mostly pretty PG-13, but there's a bit of violence, cursing, off screen death of OCs that happened long in the past, and a_ really _NSFW scene towards the end. I'll admit this is a little_ weird _and definitely darker in tone than my fluffy stuff. Nothing too bleak, I promise. I should probably warn everyone now that I have some strange kinks, though. It only seems fair to alert you all going into this._

 _For anyone reading this on FF net the NSFW section was primarily cut, so if it feels like there's something missing, there actually is. If you'd like to read that redacted part, hop on over to my Archive of Our Own account (there's a link in my profile) and you can find it there once we get to that section. It's not exactly important for the story, so you're not missing anything if you'd rather skip the naughtiest bits._

 _The time frame also got a bit messed up thanks to some things that happened during the Tartarus manga arc. I had originally planned this to take place in that ambiguous post-Tartarus future, but, well, Mashima had certain people show up..._

 ** _Author's Note Chapter_** ** _Addition:_** _Major author's note at the end. If you'd like to read the quite NSFW piece that comes directly after this one you can check out my profile for the link to my Archive of Our Own account._

* * *

Following Natsu out of the village, she maintained her aura of confidence until they passed the tree line into the forest. There really was no guarantee that she could find another way to break the curse no matter how much effort she threw at it. Still, the alternative wasn't _that_ terrible… Not that she would verbally admit it, but there had been some very striking late night fantasies about her pink haired friend in the privacy of her bedroom.

There didn't seem to be much to prevent her brain from running amok as the two made their way through the trees. The trip seemed twice as long as it had the first time they'd made it, and the extra time only seemed to make her obsess more.

Her legs felt like jelly, and her partner was oblivious judging by the way he was zooming ahead. His face still had that strange, lifeless quality to it that was so very 'un-Natsu.' It was unsettling. He hadn't even noticed how far behind she'd fallen until she called out just before he left her range of sight.

Jerking in surprise, he lurched around to look at her and blinked dumbly. "Lucy… What are you doing back there?"

"Well, what are you doing _up there_?" she shot back, wobbling her way over to him. "Are you okay? You seem pretty shook up."

The shutters snapped closed again, hiding his emotions behind blank eyes. "It's nothing."

Lucy grabbed his arm when he started to move away. "Don't shut me out, please… That guy got under your skin, didn't he? I saw the way you looked."

Natsu's jaw worked for a moment, and his eyes darted to everything but her face while he mulled over a response. Just when she began to fear he might refuse to answer at all, the dragon slayer sighed. "Yeah… I guess he did. I dunno why, though. It's not like I care what he thinks."

"C'mon." Lucy hooked her elbow with his, leaning slightly on her friend for support as they started walking again. "Tarsk is an arrogant, bigoted idiot, and I can't blame Cyra for wanting to get away from him. The fact that he trapped everyone in this curse because he thought he knew what was best for them is just… just -"

"You don't think I'm a monster, do you?" Natsu interrupted, peering at her out of the corner of his eye.

She smiled softly, patting his forearm. "I'm pretty sure I already answered that. It wouldn't matter to me if you suddenly turned giant and scaly, you'd still be Natsu. I'd be surprised, sure, but then again you do some pretty strange stuff."

The fire wizard's jaw shifted side to side as he considered what she had said. "You seriously wouldn't care?" His voice rang of skepticism.

Her hip bumped his, causing her to glance off gently before she corrected her trajectory. "Nope. It doesn't matter to me if you're a dragon or a man. You're _Natsu_ , and someone I lo- someone… precious to me." She grimaced at her own verbal stumble. Why was it still so hard to say what she felt? After their talk this morning, it seemed like her deepest wish might actually be possible.

"I just…" he started and then stopped, frowning as he tried to mash his feelings into words. "Igneel _raised_ me. It's not like I didn't know what he could do - we fought and stuff for training - but it was different seeing those dragons in Crocus killing people and destroying everything. I guess I didn't want to believe those terrible stories people tell about them…" The strain in his arm was still there under her fingers. "I… don't want to be like that. I don't _ever_ want to make you afraid of me."

Butterflies started thrashing around in her stomach at his declaration. "It can be hard to accept that the person who has the power to protect you probably also has the power to hurt others. I imagine it's especially true when it's someone who loved and nurtured you like Igneel did. That's the same with humans, though, and if you can trust them to do the right thing you can live with the knowledge and learn t-to love them because of that, not in spite of it. It's all in how they choose to use their power."

Engrossed in her thoughts and watching her boots, Lucy took longer than she normally would to realize Natsu had fallen silent. Raising her head, she was a bit surprised to see him staring at her with an intensely thoughtful expression. After a long moment, he opened his mouth only to close it and offer her his huge, unburdened grin. Her heart did a sudden fluttery dance in response.

"Hey, Lucy?"

"Y-yeah?"

"We're here."

Waning sunlight struck her square in the eyes as they passed the edge of the forest, making her blink and sending spots streaking along her vision. She rubbed them with the back of her hand and let go of Natsu's arm. Not wanting to waste time, Lucy ignored the dazzled state of her eyes and made a beeline for the altar. "Right," she muttered to herself, "I can do this.

Tossing her notebook on the ground next to where she knelt, the celestial wizard began tracing the etched stone with her fingers, pausing now and then to make notes or puzzle over wording. Natsu hung back for a while, not wanting to distract her, but the sun began to creep down towards the treetops, and his anxiety started to get the better of him.

Edging ever closer to his partner, he watched her actions carefully. Her taut shoulders and barely audible grumbling didn't strike him as a good sign, and he struggled to keep his mouth shut. By the time he was standing near her elbow and peering down at her notes, Lucy finally dropped her pen and ran a shaky hand through her pale hair.

"Did you find anything?" Natsu asked cautiously.

The look she cast up at him was _definitely_ not a good sign. She looked defeated, even apologetic. No, that wasn't what he'd been hoping for.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "This is much more… explicit than I was expecting. I figured there'd be a loop hole or something with how crudely written Tarsk's changes were, but…"

He shifted his weight, crossing and then uncrossing his arms over his chest in a display of disquiet. "So, uh, there's nothing else we can do?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "When I said explicit, I mean that he kinda spelled it out pretty graphically. A dragon and a celestial wizard have to do it _right here_ on top of the altar to break the curse. I'm not really sure that's what he _originally_ intended since it's so garbled with all the alterations, but… That guy is seriously bent. I know this isn't what you wanted…"

Natsu studied her carefully, taking in how her fingers tugged at the edge of her skirt and her pearly teeth nibbled at her lower lip. Chocolate eyes regarded him with caution under blond lashes. "Okay," he breathed finally. "So… we… I mean, what do you want to do?"

"It should be fine," Lucy said quickly, surprising him when she hopped to her feet.

"Fine? Just fine?" Natsu sulked. "I don't want to do this if you don't."

"It's not that I don't _want_ to…" She found herself blushing and frowned in irritation. Now was not the time for her usual reactions. "It's just that the wording on the curse says we have to… love each other."

The fire wizard muttered something under his breath, catching her attention. "Say that again."

He puffed out a sigh, looking up to a sky that mirrored her blush in reds and oranges as if to steel himself, and then locked gazes with her. "I said I've got my half of that covered."

Lucy was silent, blinking at him.

Tugging at his scarf, Natsu kept his eyes on her. "Do I gotta say it out loud? I'm… not so good with words."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" she asked, voice more calm than he expected. "When did you start feeling this way?"

"I just _told_ you that I'm not good with words." He smiled crookedly. "And I think it was back on Tenrou… when you wouldn't run away. At least that's when I started to think about it. About us."

She'd been fairly certain after what he'd said that morning, but hearing his confession out loud left her feeling strangely adrift. Eventually she said, "I can't believe this. We wasted all that time."

"Wasted?" Natsu looked confused.

She seized his scarf and pulled him forward to clumsily press her lips against his before drawing back, fingers still clenched in his neckwear. "I feel like an idiot for not just saying I've been in love with you for ages. We could've been together, but I keep _tripping_ over myself."

Natsu snorted and started to laugh. "Oh, man! It took you long enough to finally admit it."

"What." Her voice dropped to a chilly tone, but it didn't stop his chortling. "You knew that I was crazy about you and didn't say anything to - mmf!"

The fire mage cut her off with a quick, heated kiss. He could get used to doing that. "You really didn't know how I felt? It's not like I was trying to see anyone _else_ naked."

"What the hell was up with that, anyway?" she huffed, trying to squash the wretched threads of embarrassment that dug through her.

He shrugged as if it should be the most obvious thing in the world. "I like looking at you naked." Waggling his eyebrows he leaned in. "Maybe I could see some now that you've told me you love me?"

"Where is _this_ coming from?" the celestial wizard shrieked, swatting him on the arm and giving a little push against his chest.

"Pfft. I grew up in Fairy Tail. You think I don't know more about sex than most people twice my age?"

Her mouth opened and then clicked closed. "I honestly hadn't given that any thought, but wow… It's a wonder you're not a complete pervert when you put it that way."

"There's a big difference between saying 'I love you' and having sex, though," he said, diverting the topic and scrubbing a hand through his spiky locks. "I can't say I didn't think about this… probably a lot… _definitely_ a lot lately…"

"Oh, thank goodness," she breathed, patting him on the sternum. "I kind of thought I was the only one who fantasized about you climbing through my window and into my bed one night to -" His eyebrows had spiked high on his forehead at her admission. "You know what, I'm not going to finish that."

He snickered but stopped suddenly when she traced a careful index finger over his glorious abs with a sultry smile. She could feel the ridges of his muscles even through the thick cloth of his coat. "I don't think I would've picked this for a place to start this part of our relationship, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested. There's something about all this that's actually kind of -"

"Forced?" he asked, still not liking the thought.

"I was going to say… risque. You don't think there's something a little sexy and thrilling about all this?" The blonde leaned in towards him until her breath tickled his jaw and made him swallow hard. "The two protagonists who've been dancing around each other for years finally declare their love in a cursed grove under the threat of evil magic. Giving in to their repressed passions and quenching their thirst for another is the only way to save everyone, so why would they resist?"

He shook his head and smiled ruefully. "Where do you come up with this stuff?"

"Shut up," she explained. "This is quality romance material. I might use this for my next novel."

"Are you sure you're really okay with this?" Natsu let his fingers brush over her bare arms, but seemed hesitant to go any further.

She slid her fingers up over his shoulders, shifting to stand closer. "All this time I've been fighting with myself. I knew what I wanted but… there's just this _block_ that tells me I _shouldn't_ want this, and it just drives me crazy every time." Lucy kissed him gently, reveling in the way his breathing hitched. "This way I can't back out, and I really don't _want_ to _._ "

"I just don't want you to regret this," he murmured, "I couldn't stand -"

Her index finger against his lower lip temporarily silenced him. "This is _my_ choice. _You're_ what I want," she declared.

"Oh," Natsu said, blush starting to rise under his tan while he beamed at her hugely.

Their conversation lulled again, and the longer the quiet dragged on the more ragged his grin became. Lucy realized, despite his bragging, the dragon slayer was even more nervous than she was. "You have no idea what to do next, do you?" she teased.

"Of course I do!" he exclaimed indignantly. "Sort of…" Natsu eyed the elevated stone slab dubiously. It certainly didn't look comfortable and wasn't exactly his ideal choice for their first time engaging in this activity.

"Here," Lucy said, "Maybe it'll help if I start." She began loosening the fasteners on her top, courage building along with her excitement. Now that she'd conquered her wall of sanctioned modesty, a welcome sort of giddy steadiness had settled in.

She eagerly moved to hop up on the altar only to be stopped by his touch on her elbow. "Hang on." Natsu peeled off his coat and laid it across the cool stone surface. "That'll be better."

"Such a gentleman all of the sudden," Lucy said, tipping her head so she looked up at him coyly through her lashes.

Momentarily mute in the face of her suddenly seductive posturing, the dragon slayer just stared down at her until she started to frown. "A-are you sure you're okay with this?" he asked, voice tinged with anxiety. "I know it's the only way to break the curse, but I don't want to ruin what we've got -"

Her finger on his lips halted his stuttered sentence. "It's okay. Don't think of it like that. Just consider it an… opportunity that I'm finally taking."

A laugh escaped him. "If that's what you want."

She pushed up slightly on her toes to press her lips to his again. "It's _definitely_ what I want. If you're trying to get rid of me, you're going to have to do something a lot worse than sleep with me when I'm asking you to."

He snickered and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I dunno. We might be _really_ bad at this." Then his searing mouth sealed over hers.

Deciding to follow through on her new bold impulsiveness, Lucy opened her lips and carefully ran her tongue along the back of his upper teeth. Startled, Natsu hesitated for a split second before leaning in further and attempting to catch her wily tongue with his own, managing to mash her upper lip against her teeth in the process. They dueled briefly before Lucy snorted and had to pull back and laugh.

"Okay, this isn't a fight. You don't have to _win,_ " she chuckled, letting her fingertips play with the hair at the base of his neck and making him shiver.

Broad hands flattened against her smooth, partially bare back, though his fingers flexed as a sign of his nerves. "Yeah, sorry. I kinda got carried away there." Her top was already draping slightly away from her body, and he skimmed a palm up under the fabric. If the way she hummed was any indication, she seemed to be enjoying it. "Right. I can do this."

He brought his mouth back to hers, attempting to pick up where they left off. Lucy obliged him happily by parting her still smiling lips and letting his tongue skim across hers. The sweet warmth of her mouth was exotic in a way he hadn't been expecting, and he cautiously shifted closer for a better taste. The slow push and pull of lips and teeth gradually settled into a rhythm that started to lull Natsu's senses into a pleasant euphoria.

The slender fingers burrowing into his hair and massaging his scalp further drugged him, and he found himself letting slip an embarrassing whine when she paused. Lucy's torso shook slightly with a suppressed laugh, and he nipped at her swelling lower lip in retaliation. His sharp teeth scraped at the flesh, but not hard enough to pierce. An intake of breath through her nose surprised him but not as much as her fingers twisting and pulling in his hair to force his mouth tighter against hers.

Natsu's growl reverberated through his chest, some guttering flame in his belly kicking into a full inferno at the prickling pain caused by her nails on his scalp. He'd had no idea he was into that, really, but it felt so _good._

Tilting his head slightly and using his nose and chin to shift the angle of her face, he sucked at her bottom lip before letting his tongue start to desperately roam the cavern of her mouth. She still tasted like the sweet summer fruits they'd eaten for lunch, thick and sugary.

Her ample breasts were now firmly smashed against his bare chest, and she kept up with the insistent tugging on his pink locks. The fire in his stomach seemed to be sucking the oxygen away from his brain to feed itself, growing and licking lower and lower. He was starting to feel dizzy, and the reaction to the bulging heat in his groin had him sliding his fingers down her back to press their hips together.

Lucy released his head from her death grip and pulled away suddenly, panting and staring. "W-wow. I don't think being bad at this is going to be a problem for us."

"Heh. Yeah." He couldn't help but grin even as nerves jangled around in his body. His traitorous brain caught up and started whispering insidious doubts, but the slow, insistent pulsing between his legs helped to drown him out. Brown eyes gazed up at him expectantly, waiting impatiently for his next move.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note Chapter Addition:**_ _In case anyone is questioning my reasoning behind how things turn out: t_ _he very first draft of notes had Lucy pulling a bit of a rabbit out of her hat and finding a loophole in the curse. It just honestly seemed too convenient. The second and third drafts had her being all blushy and embarrassed, and Snogfairy (Thank you!) kindly pointed out that it didn't quite… work. This last draft is the result of me retyping the entire story from and making changes as I went and ended up much closer to what I had intended. I figured that part of Lucy's hesitance was likely due to the social norms of the class she was brought up in – where she probably was taught she shouldn't want that kind of thing and definitely shouldn't pursue it herself. It just felt like a little bit of justice for Lucy to use the awful hand hand she was dealt as a ladder to get over one of her personal hurdles to something she wanted. She was meant to take advantage of a situation where some creep tried to manipulate them into something uncomfortable. Not sure if it actually reads that way, but there you go._

 _As I said up top, if you'd like to read the kinda naughty bit that comes directly after this one, you can slide on over to my Archive of Our Own account (same user name, same story name) and pick up where this leaves off. If that isn't your sort of thing, then feel free to skip it since it isn't necessary for understanding the story._


	6. The one with the end

_**Summary:**_ _Getting lost in the woods is the least of their worries when Natsu and Lucy blunder their way into a cursed village and a prophecy that leads them to understand something about themselves._

 _Big thanks to Snogfairy for taking a look at this and giving me the shove I needed to actually fix a bunch of stuff I was waffling on!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _For anyone reading this on FF net the NSFW section was primarily cut, so if it feels like there's something missing, there actually is. If you'd like to read that redacted part, hop on over to my Archive of Our Own account (there's a link in my profile) and you can find it there once we get to that section. It's not exactly important for the story, so you're not missing anything if you'd rather skip the naughtiest bits._

 _ **Author's Note Chapter Addition:**_ _There's a bit of naughty at the beginning of this last chapter, so if that's not your thing, I apologize. Hopefully you can skim through it without too much pain. Main author's note at the end of the chapter._

* * *

"Wow," she murmured, smiling drunkenly. "That was pretty incredible."

He nodded, forehead dipping to touch hers while she toyed with his hair. "Yeah…"

"Maybe next time I can be on top," she said and then hesitated. "I mean… if you want to do that again -"

The look he gave her made her silent. "Lucy, I would do that every couple of _hours_ if you'd let me."

"That might be expecting a bit much. I'd like to actually accomplish something once in a while," she joked. "But I think I can indulge you now and then."

"Like right now?"

"You can't be serious." The blonde stared up at him. "You _are_ serious. As much as I'd _really_ like to, I don't have the kind of recovery power you do."

"I guess we'll have to practice a lot to get your stamina up," he grinned, teeth on full display.

She snorted. "Just shut up and kiss me some more."

The dragon slayer complied quickly, mouth working over hers with renewed energy. His fingers twined strands of her golden locks around themselves, luxuriating in the softness. He was more than happy to stay like this for as long as possible.

Finally, she broke away, breathing hard again. "I hate to do this, Natsu, but... my leg is falling asleep. You're sort of laying on it."

He grumbled and rolled over, sliding out of her regretfully, and belatedly realized that the surface they were on wasn't particularly large when he nearly plunged off the edge. His squawk of surprise as he scrabbled to stay on drew a laugh from his exhausted partner. Without him in her immediate frame of vision, she gazed up at the night sky.

The good humor that had been humming in her veins dwindled, and Lucy's face betrayed her disappointment. "It didn't work?" She pointed up to the unchanged stars overhead when Natsu looked at her. "Did I mess something up?" Struggling to sit up, Lucy wracked her brain for anything that might have been overlooked in their frenzy.

Natsu's limbs still felt strangely heavy, but he slid down off the altar top, sandals making a puff of dust when they hit the ground. He tucked himself back inside his pants, staring up at the heavens with a frown. "I don't know about you, but that sure felt like we did everything right to me."

"That's not what I -" The celestial wizard shook her head, smiling despite the situation. Swinging her legs over the side of the stone surface, she instantly became aware of an essential truth about sex she'd never really taken the time to consider before.

It was sticky. _She_ was sticky, especially in a now very tender place between her legs. Her partner watched her expectantly, looking confused when Lucy only shifted her hips towards the edge of the altar instead of standing up. He caught on quickly when he saw the creamy white fluid painting the inside of her thighs.

Well, damn if _that_ didn't do some interesting things to the banked fire in his belly.

"Oh, uh, maybe I can help you with that…" Natsu began digging into the baggy pockets of his pants, pulling out her underwear that he'd stashed away earlier. He hesitated, staring at the fabric for a moment while she readjusted her shirt to cover her breasts before extending it to her. "You might want these too."

Lucy rolled her eyes with a crooked smile and accepted the article. Just as she was about to propose heading over to the stream they had passed on their way to the clearing so she could clean up, the dragon slayer planted his palms against her thighs and dropped his head to lave his tongue repeatedly up her sensitive core. She shrieked in surprise, and he made a face that clearly said he wasn't sure what to think of the flavor of their remnants. "What are you do- Actually, I'm not sure I want to know."

"I didn't have anything to clean you up with," he replied defensively, reaching past her to grab his scarf and coat when he was done. "And it's not like it tastes bad… Just kinda weird."

She sniffed, turning her face away and sliding down to the ground. "Earlier you said you liked the way I taste. Now it's weird?"

Noting the way her cheeks turned pink, he couldn't help the cocky grin that crawled onto his mouth while he wound the scaled scarf around his neck. "I _do_ like it, but I think I could get used to how we taste _together_ too."

The light dusting of pink burned into full crimson. Lucy shimmied back into her underwear, pausing to pick up his belt while she was bent over. "I think I'm going to amend my statement about you not being that much of a pervert, because you're doing a really good impression of -"

His hand shot out and seized her elbow, using it to turn her body to face the altar. "Look!" She followed his gaze, and her eyes widened in shock. The script etched into the stone was slowly unraveling like a loose string being pulled on a knit sweater, evaporating into the air.

"W-wait… Does that mean…?"

Strong fingers pulled her back, making the celestial mage stumble slightly and bump into her partner's chest. Natsu made a sound of alarm and shielded her with his body as light began to pulse from the altar, growing in intensity as the last of the words vanished from the surface. "Shit! Let's get out of here," he hissed, tugging her along when her legs refused to cooperate.

She glanced over her shoulder as they hurried towards the line of trees surrounding the clearing. "You don't think something bad is going to happen, do you?"

"Not taking any chances," the dragon slayer grunted, giving a quick tug on his companion's arm to bring her in front of him where he could push her along. "This whole thing has been really weird and I -"

The light burst, nearly blinding Natsu when he chanced a look behind. He wrapped his arms around Lucy, curling over her like a shell to protect her from whatever was going to happen next. Squinting against the radiance shoving back the night, he sucked in a sharp breath when he saw a shape in the light. As quickly as it had erupted, the luminance vanished like a switch had been flipped, leaving the fire wizard with spots dancing in front of his eyes.

"What happened?" Lucy demanded, peering behind them. The altar was bathed in the subtle light of the moon and stars - the right stars this time. "It worked! We're back!"

Natsu was still staring, mouth gaping open. "W-whoa… Did you see that?"

"See what? The light?" she asked curiously, stepping out of his embrace.

He stood rooted to the spot, clutching his coat, and shook his head. "No… I thought I saw…"

Gently touching his arm to get him to look at her, Lucy gazed up at him in the sudden dimness. "Saw what, Natsu?"

"A dragon," he whispered. "I thought I saw a dragon _smiling_ at us…" The fire mage shook his pink head, laughing lightly. "I must'a imagined it."

Lucy studied his face briefly before taking his hand with a warm smile. Her free fingers cupped his cheek, and she leaned up to give him a kiss full of promise. "Come on. Let's go home."

The trek back to the village felt much shorter this time, buoyed as they were by excitement and the lingering, pleasant after effects of their lovemaking. Natsu had redressed himself by the time they made it to the edge of the forest, though he picked at the stains on his coat with amusement.

"You know, I think I might never wash this again and keep it as a reminder of this… 'adventure.'"

"Don't you dare," the blonde warned. "You already have that stupid maid uniform -"

"Oh, wow. I hadn't even thought of that!" he broke in. "Any chance you'd wear that again?" The raging blush that burned along her cheeks made him chuckle.

"So you expect us to believe that your village was cursed by a dragon, that a dragon slayer and a celestial wizard just _happened_ to somehow stumble into whatever dimension you were trapped in, and that they broke the curse which caused your entire village to appear out of nowhere _right_ when we were in the area looking for them?"

If there'd been any doubt of their success, Erza's stern, skeptical voice carrying on the wind erased it.

"Lady wizard, I understand that it must sound implausible, but -" Chieftain Daun was cut off by an irritated ice make mage.

"Pretty sure 'implausible' doesn't even begin to describe this," Gray complained. "We know Natsu and Lucy were here since you have their travel packs, but where the hell are they?"

"Awww, did you miss us that much, Snowflake?" the dragon slayer called out as their friends came into view. "Maybe you should of come with us instead of deciding to fight those thugs on your own."

A small, blue shape barreled right into his chest. "Natsuuuuu!" Happy sobbed. "I was so worried! You and Lucy were gone for three whole days, and we couldn't find you anywhere!

Petting the exceed's furry head, Natsu's expression softened. "Yeah, sorry, Buddy. I didn't mean to worry you."

The feline sniffed dramatically, clinging to his friend's jacket like his life depended on it, and then his nose wrinkled. Big eyes peered up to the pink haired wizard's face. "Natsu… why do you smell like you took a bath in Lucy perfume?"

Face blanching, the young man tried to cover it by laughing and patting the cat on the head earnestly. "H-hey, it looks like everything worked out okay! The curse is broken, and we're back home."

"The chieftain was telling us about it," Wendy chimed in, cradling a disgruntled looking Carla in her arms. "It must have been really hard. How did you do it?"

Lucy stepped forward, brain racing for a way to explain things to the young girl. "Well, you see… We had to.. and then we…"

"Lucy figured out how to get the curse script off the altar it was sealed on," Natsu supplied quickly. It wasn't, strictly speaking, a lie, and even Tarsk's face, half hidden as it was behind the gag, betrayed that he believed it. The traitorous shaman looked outraged.

"Well done!" Erza declared, nodding in respect. "I guess spending all that time with Levy has been beneficial for you. You should thank her for teaching you about script magic when you get back to Magnolia."

"Ah hah hah!" Lucy tittered nervously. "I'll be sure to do that…"

Daun hurried forward, using his staff to propel himself. It was obvious the last few days had weighed heavily on him, but the smile on his lined face spoke of life and renewed hope. "We owe you more than we could possibly repay. You have done so much, risked so much to help us."

"Here, here!" Radi cried, rapping the spear he'd been using to menace Tarsk on the ground and getting a rousing shout in response from the other villagers. "To Natsu and Lucy! The bravest, most gracious master wizards." Maulin and the other hunters whooped, urging everyone else to join in.

"Man, it looks like there's going to be party now," Gray commented over the din. "And here I figured we'd have to rescue these people from Flamebrain's crazy antics." Natsu just stuck out his tongue, still feeling too good to start an argument.

Logs were tossed on to the large cook fire in the village center and food seemed to be appearing from every corner in a steady, if small, stream. "Please, feast with us," Daun cajoled the guild wizards. "We would be honored if you would accept our humble accommodations for the night."

Erza agreed without hesitation. "I believe there is much for us to discuss anyway. A lot has changed in 900 years, and you'll need help if you're going to become a part of this country again."

"I could eat," Natsu agreed, patting his flat stomach and casting a surprisingly salacious grin to Lucy. "Need to rebuild my energy after all that."

Her face felt like it was going to burst into flames so she turned away and scuttled towards where the villagers were setting up blankets and pillows for seating. Wendy caught the blonde's embarrassed expression and looked to her fellow dragon slayer. "Is Lucy okay? Did something happen?"

"Lots of things happened," he replied cryptically. "But right now I'm _starving_. C'mon, Wendy, let's eat!"

Morning brought a selection of hangovers for everyone. Daun had unearthed casks of special liquor brewed from fermented fruits that the village created just for special occasions and ceremonies. The natural sweetness managed to hide the insanely high alcohol content and lead to the Fairy Tail wizards overindulging.

Not that the villagers had stopped them. Lucy distinctly remembered a woman constantly refilling her cup and encouraging the others to drink more too. She'd actually ended up sprawled in Natsu's lap with the fire mage planting wet, scorching kisses on the back of her neck whenever the others weren't looking. If the villagers hadn't housed the guild mates all in the same tent, Lucy strongly suspected she would've followed through on her earlier thought to take advantage of his irrepressible energy.

Breakfast had been sparse and quiet in contrast, but Daun had extracted a promise that the guild mates would return for a visit. Erza had gone one further and insisted on bringing back official representatives from the kingdom as soon as possible.

"And you got the full payment for the job?" Lucy asked excitedly as they made their way back out of the forest.

"Sure did," Gray answered, hands jammed in his pocket and shirt already unbuttoned. "Those bandits were pretty weak, honestly."

"Yes!" the blonde exclaimed, raising her fist in the air. "I was afraid I wasn't going to make rent after… all this." She hesitated, looking back at the lagging Natsu who had been thoughtful and subdued all morning.

Slowing her steps and effectively dropping out of the conversation between her other teammates, the celestial wizard pulled even with the trudging dragon slayer. "Hey, you okay? You haven't said mu -"

"I don't think we should tell them," Natsu interrupted, keeping his voice low. "About what happened. About us."

She was taken aback as much by the seriousness of his face as his words. Her heart twisted in her chest, aching with sudden regret and a strange emptiness. "Okay… I think I understand, but I hope we can still work together... I mean, it's not like we really promised each other anything -"

He snorted, nudging her with his shoulder. "Don't be weird. If that wasn't a promise, I don't know what is. I just meant that I didn't want to tell the others 'cause they'll probably get crazy about it."

"I guess you've got a point." Relief swelled to fill the brief hollow. The last thing she wanted was to just go back to how things had been between them.

"Sure I do," he said. "I want a chance to get used to this before everyone starts trying to get involved. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I don't want things to get ruined because the others keep poking at us."

"It'll be hard to hide," she said quietly, but a mischievous smile flittered across her face. "I guess there's something kind of… thrilling about the chance of being caught." Her elbow bumped his side playfully, and the grin he gave in return looked almost wicked.

"What're you talking about?" Happy butt in, alighting on Natsu's shoulder and making the two humans jump.

"Uh, nothin' much," the fire wizard mumbled.

Tipping his furry head, Happy observed his two closest friends with keen eyes. "I can wait. You'll tell me later, right?"

Natsu laughed, reaching up to scratch the exceed behind the ears. His little friend would almost certainly find out long before the others just from the amount of time he spent with them anyway. No doubt he'd trill a phrase that was now obviously true. "I sure will, Happy. I promise, it'll be worth the wait."

He glanced at Lucy and shared her soft, warm smile. Yes. It was definitely worth the wait.

* * *

 _ **Author's Ending Notes:**_ _Heeeey, how 'bout that super cheesy last line, yeah? I hope this wasn't too weird for you all, and thank you to anyone who actually stuck it through to the end. I've been working on this for months, so it's a bit of a relief to have it pretty much finished. Feel free to let me know if anything didn't make sense or was just too bizarre to handle. Also typos. *shakes fist* I hate typos but do a lousy job of finding them._

 _I struggled with this so long that I'm not at all sure I got across the things I wanted to. As for Natsu…. I feel like that kid internalizes a lot of bad stuff, and it gives me the desire to poke at him constantly. The dragon slayers' little talk about turning into dragons seemed resolved too fast for me, and then Natsu turns around and makes that chilling comment to f!Rogue about throwing away his humanity. I feel like that really needs to get explored more. On top of that was a pack of kids who'd been raised and loved by dragons suddenly confronted with other dragons practically obliterating an entire city. That never seemed to raise any thoughts other than "oh we didn't manage to beat them." It felt like it should be more jarring, like watching your mom/dad's cousin casually blow up a city block or something. Combined with the dragon slayer turning into an actual dragon thing, it doesn't feel like much of a stretch for Natsu to wonder if he would be capable of that too._

 _This is an example of the reason I don't like to release my long fics until they're totally written. I honestly didn't quite understand what story I was trying to write until I'd actually rewritten the whole thing. If anyone wants to discuss this (public or private, your choice), my ask box is open, and I am not at all above making revisions if folks feel like I really dropped the ball._

 _So there is my insanely long Author's note. Thanks for following along and I hope I didn't drive you all away with my weirdness._


End file.
